How can a state authorize a private party to issue NPDES permits within its borders?

• A. Through State Program Approval (SPA)
• B. By granting a federal license
• C. By issuing a local ordinance
• D. By issuing a general permit

Answer: (A)

State Program Approval is the mechanism that allows the NPDES permitting authority to be transferred to a state. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA may approve and delegate the administration of the NPDES permit program to a state agency through SPA. Once approved, that state agency—not a private party—issues, enforces, and administers NPDES permits within the state. A private individual cannot be authorized to issue NPDES permits. A federal license isn’t the method for delegating this program, and local ordinances or general permits don’t grant private parties the authority to issue NPDES permits; they relate to local governance or to permit types, not to who has the primary permitting authority.