Overview
A complete Safe Drinking Water General Permit – 01 (SDWGP-01): Community Water System Finished Water Storage Tank Painting Application must be submitted to and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) before painting the interior of an existing community water system finished water storage tank (storage tank).
When the application is received, it must be signed by the appropriate individual identified in DEP’s Safe Drinking Water regulations and a professional engineer licensed in Pennsylvania.
Qualifications
In order to qualify for SDWGP-01, the storage tank painting project must meet the qualifications in Section B of the application. Projects not meeting these requirements may still be approved; however, the public water system will be required to obtain a Public Water System Minor Amendment Construction Permit that meets the requirements of 25 Pa. Code § 109.503.
Qualifications from Section B
If the storage tank to be painted is used to provide the required chlorine contact time for an entry point, SDWGP-01 may not be utilized. Instead, the public water system will be required to obtain a Public Water System Minor Amendment Construction Permit that meets the requirements of 25 Pa. Code § 109.503 with a detailed explanation of how the required chlorine contact time will be achieved while the storage tank is out of service.
- ANSI/NSF Standard 61 Coatings: All the coatings being applied to the interior of the storage tank must be certified for conformance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/NSF Standard 61.
- Coating Application: All the coatings must be mixed and applied in accordance with the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Standard D102 Coating Steel Water Storage Tanks.
- Interior Preparation: All interior steel surfaces must be prepared in accordance with AWWA Standard D102 Coating Steel Water Storage Tanks.
- Welding: All welding done on the interior of the storage tank must be done in accordance with AWWA Standard D100 Welded Steel Tanks for Water Storage.
- Pressure and Demands Maintained: Pressure and peak demands will be maintained, while the storage tank is out of service during the storage tank painting, utilizing a portable ANSI/NSF 61 hydropneumatic tank or permitted existing storage tank or pump station. If the addition of unpermitted pumps or unpermitted storage tanks are required to maintain pressure or demand, a minor permit amendment would be required.
- Pressure and Peak Demands Testing: The method for maintaining pressure and meeting peak demands while the storage tank is out of service has been tested with the storage tank full and isolated from the system. This allows the storage tank to be returned to service, if necessary (to maintain pressure or meet peak demands), and for other options to be explored. While the storage tank is isolated from the system, a 0.2 mg/L disinfectant residual must be maintained within the storage tank.
- Fire Protection: If the system provides fire protection, the local fire department must be notified of any potential fire flow deficiencies with the storage tank being out of service.
- Disinfection: After the storage tank painting is completed, the interior of the storage tank must be disinfected utilizing one of the procedures set forth in the latest edition of AWWA Standard C652 Disinfection of Water Storage Facilities
A Special Condition will be included in the permit for this requirement. See DEP’s fact sheet Planned and Unplanned Discharges of Chlorinated Water to Surface Waters (3830-FS-DEP4861) for information on chlorinated water discharges. - Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) Testing: After the storage tank painting is completed, water from the storage tank must be sampled at least 24 hours after the storage tank is filled and prior to the storage tank being returned to service and the samples must be analyzed by a DEP-accredited laboratory for VOCs using United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Methods 502.2 or 524.2. A Special Condition will be included in the permit for this requirement.
All SDWGP-01 application packages must contain, at a minimum:
- $500 General Permit Fee
- An Engineer’s Report
- ANSI/NSF Standard 61 Certified - Coating Specifications
For additional information on gathering the supporting data for a SDWGP-01 application, refer to DEP’s Public Water Supply Manual, Part II
Contact us
If you have questions, please contact your local DEP regional or district office.
Additional contact information:
Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Safe Drinking Water
Permits Division
P.O. Box 8467
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8467
Phone: (717) 787-9633
Fax: (717) 772-5630