Department of Environment & Conservation
Robert Martineau, Commissioner

Information about the programs dedicated to protecting and improving Tennessee's Water Quality.

• Programs
• Resource Info
• Outreach
• Regulatory
• Assistance

Program Areas

• Fleming Training Center — The department’s Fleming Training Center in Murfreesboro offers cutting-edge technology and advanced classes in a variety of water areas to assist certified operators with ongoing training and services as they complete their continuing education requirements. It educates and certifies thousands of treatment plant and water management staff every year.
• Septic Tanks & Underground Disposal Systems — information regarding the installation of septic tanks and underground disposal systems | NEW – Apply online for services
• State Revolving Fund Loan Programs — Provide loans to local governments (cities, counties, and utility districts) for water and wastewater facilities. State Revolving Loan funds support water and wastewater system projects so communities can achieve and maintain compliance with regulatory standards and improve water quality. Tennessee's State Revolving Fund Loan Program has provided low-interest loans for a variety of projects — large to small and east to west — from a large combined sewer overflow correction project to a raw water transmission line extension project to a wastewater treatment improvement and expansion project
• Water Quality — information regarding the quality of Tennessee's rivers and streams, NPDES water quality permits, gravel dredging, and surface mining
• Water Supply — information regarding Tennessee's drinking water supplies, and ground water

Resource Information/Reports

• Publications Available for Public Review
• Water Resources Publications
• 2012 Tennessee Groundwater 305b Water Quality Report
• Capacity Development Report to EPA - December 2012
• 2012 305(b) Report - The Status of Water Quality in Tennessee
• Proposed Final 2012 303(d) List of Impaired Waters in Tennessee
• Tennessee's Online Water Quality Assessment
• EPA's Water Quality Standards Web site
• Drought Management Planning
• TDEC Drought Management Plan - February 2010
• U.S. Drought Monitor Map for Tennessee
• Water Resources Regional Planning
• Exceptional Tennessee Waters & Outstanding National Resource Waters
• Tennessee Environment and Conservation Water Videos
• Watershed Water Quality Management Plans - Watersheds
• Mercury Levels in Tennessee Fish
• Fishing and Bacteriological Advisories in Tennessee
• EPA Approved Final 2010 303(d) List of Impaired Waters in Tennessee
• Individual Source Water Assessments for Public Water Systems
• TDEC Dam Locations: http://tnmap.tn.gov/wpc/
• Ground Water Reporting Form
• Tennessee's Scenic Rivers Program
• Groundwater Classification Rules with Departmental Guidance
• Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook - 2012

Outreach

• Environmental Stewardship Awards — Annual awards recognizing the many voluntary efforts throughout the state that improve environmental and conservation stewardship.
• Public Participation Opportunities — A list of current public notices of permitting decisions, public hearings, and rule-making activities available on-line.
• Board Meetings — The public is invited to attend the meetings of our regulatory boards.
  • Ground Water Management Board
  • Water and Wastewater Operators Certification Board
  • Water Quality Control Board
  • Water Resources Technical Advisory Committee
  • West Tennessee River Basin Authority
• A Landowner's Guide to Streambank Protection and Stabilization
• The Watershed Management Approach
• Information on Tennessee's TMDL Program
• Unified Watershed Assessment and Restoration Plan
• Tennessee's Unified Watershed Assessment Categories

Regulatory Information

• Regulations — courtesy of the Secretary of State's Office
• Storm Water Discharges Permitting; Phase I and II — Information, resources, and links, including Phase I & II MS4 permitting programs
• TDEC's Self Disclosure Policy — TDEC Policy Encouraging Self-Policing and Voluntary Correction

Summary of Permits:

• Ready Mix Concrete Plant General Permit: The operation of a ready mix concrete facility with discharges of washwater, stormwater, or a no-discharge recycle system.
• NPDES Discharge Permit for Direct Point Source Discharges into Waters of the State: Direct dischargers include industrial and commercial wastewater, industrial and construction stormwater runoff and municipal wastewater discharges. Mining facilities and Class I Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) also require NPDES discharge permits.
• NPDES General Permit For Industrial Stormwater: Point source discharge of stormwater from runoff industrial or commercial facilities to the waters of the state
• NPDES General Permit for Construction Storm Water: the grubbing, clearing, grading or excavation of 1or more acres of land
• Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP)/Section 401 Certification: Physically altering waters (streams and wetlands) of the state, including water withdrawals that have the potential to signficantly degrade the water quality in the stream.
• Inter-Basin Transfer Permit: The  transfer of water out of a major river basin and into another. 
• State Operating Permit: Operating a municipal collection system, discharging treated municipal wastewater to land
• Surface Mining Permit: Surface disturbance and surface mining of specific minerals
• Wellhead Protection Program Approval: Public water supplies using groundwater as a source
• Certificate of Dam Approval and Safety: Constructing, altering, removing or operating a dam that is a minimum of 20 feet high or impounding at least 30 acre-feet of water
• Underground Injection Control Permit: Injection wells and injection activities with the exception of single family domestic waste disposal systems and injection of natural gas for the purpose of storage
• Public Water System Construction: Constructing or modifying a public water system
• Domestic Septage Disposal Site Permit: land disposal of domestic septage from septic tanks or other sewage treatment or disposal facilities
• Septic System Construction Permit: subsurface sewage disposal (septic) system installation or repair
• Dye Trace Registration: Anyone who performs a dye trace study in streams or groundwater systems of the state.
• Subsurface Sewage Disposal System Installer Permit:  the business of installing, altering, extending, or repairing a subsurface sewage disposal (septic) systems
• Septic Tank Pumping Contractor Permit: the business of removing and disposing of domestic septage from septic tanks, holding tanks, portable toilets or other similar sewage treatment or disposal facilities
• Water Well Driller or Installer License:  the digging, drilling, or redrilling of a water well or anyone who installs, or repairs water well pumps or filters and treatment devices

Assistance

• Office of Sustainable Practices — The Office of Environmental Assistance program provides information and non-regulatory support to businesses, schools, local governments, industries, organizations and individuals in order to prevent and reduce environmental impacts.
• Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Questions and Answers about Reissuance of Tennessee Multi-Sector General Permit (TMSP), for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity. EPA Questions and Answers about storm water permitting.
• Do I Need an Inter-Basin Transfer Permit?
• The Water and Wastewater State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Programs — Provide loans to local governments (cities, counties, and utility districts) for water and wastewater facilities.
• Water and Wastewater Needs Assessment and Facility Plans Review Program — Provides reviews and submission to EPA of twenty-year water and wastewater needs in Tennessee, and the environmental review and approval of facility plans for SRF loans.