All discharges to waters of the commonwealth require a permit through the Kentucky Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (KPDES).

The various types of discharge permits are listed below. See KPDES permit page to review and download permit applications, or go to each site linked below for information and access to permit applications.

• AFOs and CAFOs   
  Operations that are defined as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) pursuant to 401 KAR 5:060, Section 10, are required to obtain a KPDES permit.
• CSOs  
  Municipalities with combined sewer systems must include all wet weather discharge points in the discharge permit applications for their respective publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).     
• Individual Residences   
  KPDES reviews and approves construction and discharge permits for individual home residences.    
• KIMOP   
  The Division of Water (DOW) reviews and approves Kentucky Inter-Municipal Operating Permits (KIMOPs) for the discharge of sewage from local jurisdictions into other municipal systems.
• Mining    
  KPDES is responsible for reviewing and approving all industrial wastewater discharges, including coal facilities. 
• Municipal and Industrial   
  DOW reviews and approves all permit applications for municipalities and industries, as well as all domestic or sanitary wastewater treatment facilities.    
• No-Discharge Operational Permit   
  DOW reviews and approves construction and no-discharge (KNDOP) permits for wastewater including industrial, sanitary and agricultural operations (AFOs).     
• Oil and Gas    
  DOW coordinates the registration of oil and gas tank batteries, transport off-site of produced water (TOS) and holding pit construction permits.  
• Pretreatment   
  DOW reviews, approves and oversees pretreatment programs for industrial discharges to publicly owned wastewater treatment works.    
• Storm Water  
  DOW reviews and approves permit applications for storm water point source discharges. This includes storm water runoff associated with industrial activity, construction activities and storm water runoff from municipal storm separate sewer systems (MS4s).

Also see Antidegradation Alternatives Analyses:

High Quality Water Alternatives Analysis (PDF)  (Word)  
Exceptional Water Alternatives Analysis  (PDF)  (Word)  
Economic Guidance for Water Quality Standards Workbook (PDF).