AGENCY: Department of Environmental Quality. Division of Water Quality

SERIES: 7772
TITLE: National pollutant discharge elimination system municipal permit file
DATES: i 1972-
ARRANGEMENT: None

DESCRIPTION: There are permits issued under the Clean Water Act to municipalities which permit them to discharge specific pollutants under controlled conditions. Municipalities that exceed the limits established in the permit, or that pollute waters without a permit, are subject to legal action.

Included in this record series are NPDES Permit, Application for Permit Renewal, Notice of Violation, Affidavit of Publication, Public Notice Mailing List, Public Notice, Fact Sheet, Statement of Basis, Correspondence, Industrial Waste Report, Compliance Inspection Report, Water Analysis, Application for Permit, Operation and Maintenance Report, Consent Decrees, Bypass Report, Facility Map and Diagrams, Press Release, Response to Administrative Order, Administrative Order, and Summary of Rationale. Information includes the permit number; effective date and expiration date of the permit; the name and address of the permitee; the name and title of the authorizing official; the type and amount of pollution the permitee is allowed to discharge; the monitoring requirements of the permit; dates and findings of violations if any, place and date of publication of public notices; a description of the industrial facility; a record of findings of inspection conducted by the bureau, an analysis of water samples tested; name and type of stream into which pollutant is discharged; a description of events when pollution control equipment was bypassed, reason for bypass, steps taken to avoid the problem in the future, and the anticipated effect on downstream users; actions polluters must take to be in compliance with the Clean Water Act; and the dates actions will be taken.

RETENTION

Permanent. Retain for 9 year(s)

DISPOSITION

Transfer to Archives.

RETENTION AND DISPOSITION AUTHORIZATION

Retention and disposition for this series were specifically approved by the State Records Committee.

APPROVED: 08/1986

FORMAT MANAGEMENT

Paper: Retain in Office for 5 years and then transfer to State Records Center. Retain in State Records Center for 4 years and then transfer to State Archives with authority to weed.

APPRAISAL

Administrative Historical Legal

This retention is based on discussions with the bureau staff and the EPA office in Denver. The permit, applications, statement of basis, and fact sheet have historical value which document who was polluting state waters, what was discharged, the quantity discharged, and why permission was granted. They have legal values well; they can be used in court when taking action against a polluter for permit violations. State action can be taken under 78-38-1, 26-11-16, 76-8-504, or 76-10-801. Maximum statute of limitations is 4 years, but the EPA keeps its files open for 9 years. This standard has been adopted for these records.

PRIMARY DESIGNATION

Public