Industrial Stormwater Permit Guide

Lesson 3: No Exposure Certification provisions

Overview of the No Exposure Certification Provisions

The no exposure provision is intended for facilities with industrial materials and activities that are entirely sheltered from stormwater so that the stormwater does not become contaminated with pollutants. For many facilities, meeting the no exposure provisions is a simplified way of complying with the stormwater requirements.

What does "No Exposure" mean? It means that there is no condition at an industrial facility where any industrial materials and activities are exposed to rain, snow, snowmelt or runoff. The current regulatory definition of no exposure is:

…all industrial materials and activities are protected by a storm resistant shelter to prevent exposure to rain, snow, snowmelt, and/or runoff. Industrial materials or activities include, but are not limited to, material handling equipment* or activities, industrial machinery, raw materials, intermediate products, by-products, final products and waste products.

* Material handling includes storage, loading and unloading, transportation, or conveyance of any raw material, intermediate product, final product or waste.

There are many activities for which a storm resistant shelter is NOT required. These are:

• Drums, barrels, storage tanks and similar containers that are tightly sealed, in good condition, and do not leak. Sealed means banded or otherwise secured and without operational taps or valves.
• Adequately maintained vehicles used in materials handling.
• Many final products which are meant to be used outdoors (e.g., automobiles) that pose little risk of stormwater contamination, i.e., the products cannot be mobilized by precipitation or runoff.
• Containers, racks and other transport platforms (e.g., wooden pallets) used for the storage or conveyance of final products can also be stored outside, providing they are pollutant-free.