Montana State Overview

In Montana, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is authorized to administer the NPDES Program through the Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) Program.

In 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disseminated rules establishing all Phase I construction of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permitting Program. Phase I addressed, among other discharges, discharges from large construction activities disturbing five (5) acres or more of land. In Montana, since 1992 the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has been issuing general permits for storm water discharges from larger construction projects through the MPDES Program.

Phase II of the NPDES Permitting Program covered smaller construction activities disturbing between one (1) and five (5) acres. Phase II was initiated by EPA in 1999. Montana since has incorporated the MPDES Phase I and Phase II storm water management requirements.

As per the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), all project site operators whose construction sites will result in a disturbance (areas that are subject to clearing, excavating, grading, stockpiling earth materials, and placement/removal of earth material) performed during construction projects of equal to or greater than one (1) acre of total land area is required to obtain permit coverage under the General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Construction Activity General Permit.

A project site owner or operators requiring coverage under the General Permit for Storm Water Discharge Associated with Construction Activity must file an application through the Montana DEQ’s Water Protection Bureau. The owner/operator must submit the following documentation for coverage review and consideration: (1) a Notice of Intent (NOI); (2) a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); and (3) an application fee (fluctuates depending on the total acres of disturbed land).