Industrial Stormwater Permit Guide

Lesson 3: No Exposure Certification provisions

No Exposure Certification Form

The form, instructions and guidance document can be downloaded from the "Useful Links" box to the right. You may want to print a copy of the form to follow as a reference in this lesson. A No Exposure Certification must be provided for each facility qualifying for the no exposure exclusion. This exclusion from permitting is only available on a facility-wide basis. It is not available for parts of a facility such as individual outfalls or points where stormwater enters a public waterway.

There are 4 parts to the "No Exposure Certification for Exclusion from NPDES Stormwater Permitting" Form. They are as follows:

• Part A – Facility Operator Information
• Part B – Facility/Site Location Information
• Part C – Exposure Checklist
• Part D – Certification Statement

Completing Part C

To determine eligibility for the "no exposure" certification, facility operators must answer "No" to the 11 questions that are in Part C (Exposure Checklist) of the form. If you answer "yes" to any of these 11 questions, then your facility is not eligible for a "no exposure" certification. In other words, you must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or already have one. See Lesson 2 for information about how to apply for an NPDES permit.

If you later make modifications to your facility to eliminate the potential for discharge of stormwater exposed to industrial activity, then you may certify a condition of no exposure at that time.

The overall question for Part C is:

"Are any of the following materials or activities exposed to precipitation now or in the foreseeable future?"

In the following pages, instructions for answering the 11 specific questions in Part C are provided first. For each specific question, examples of practices and situations that are considered "no exposure" as well as conditions that constitute exposure are provided. If you have any questions regarding your particular facility that are not addressed, contact USEPA at the address provided on Page 3 of the form or your state provided in the links.