Industrial Activity

To comply with Iowa’s Storm Water Discharge regulations a Storm Water Discharge Permit must be obtained. Storm Water General Permit No. 1 refers to storm water discharge associated with industrial activity – any conveyance (road, yard, ditch, pipe, storm sewer, etc.) which collects and conveys storm water and is directly related to manufacturing, processing, or raw materials storage areas at an industrial plant.

Please Note: if the facility is located in an area where storm water discharge may be to an “Outstanding Iowa Water” or an “Outstanding National Resource Water”, a General Permit if not applicable to the site.  In this instance, an Individual Permit will be required.  To determine if the facility is located within one of these areas review Appendix B and C of the Iowa Antidegradation Implementation Procedure.

If an Individual Permit is required, contact the Iowa DNR for assistance at 515-725-8415 or visit their Storm Water Program webpage.

Obtaining a General Permit

  1. Develop and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (see below for template and worksheet)
    • Locate and identify all existing and potential pollutants, processes or activities at your facility that are or may contribute pollutants to storm water runoff
    • Describe methods already in place to prevent pollutants entering storm water runoff
    • Describe steps that need to be taken to prevent pollutants entering storm water runoff
  2. Make a Public Notice
  3. Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) and Permit Fee

Once these three steps have been successfully completed the facility will be considered covered under the General Permit and storm water discharge can commence.

Developing the SWPPP

  1. Review Storm Water General Permits for the basic permit requirements.
  2. Download the General Permit No. 1 SWPPP Worksheet.
    • This is a ‘fill-in-the-blank’ worksheet. Review this before using the worksheets since it will explain the types of information needed to complete worksheets.
  3. Download the Storm Water SWPPP Template Worksheet.
    • Use this to facilitate information collection at the site, including existing conditions, existing pollutants, operations and practices along with actions that may be needed in the future to prevent pollutants from contaminating storm water discharge from the facility.
    • Information contained on completed worksheets can be transferred to the SWPPP template and become part of the overall plan.