(a) The regional board, after any necessary hearing, shall prescribe requirements as to the nature of any proposed discharge, existing discharge, or material change in an existing discharge, except discharges into a community sewer system, with relation to the conditions existing in the disposal area or receiving waters upon, or into which, the discharge is made or proposed. The requirements shall implement any relevant water quality control plans that have been adopted, and shall take into consideration the beneficial uses to be protected, the water quality objectives reasonably required for that purpose, other waste discharges, the need to prevent nuisance, and the provisions of Section 13241.

(b) A regional board, in prescribing requirements, need not authorize the utilization of the full waste assimilation capacities of the receiving waters.

(c) The requirements may contain a time schedule, subject to revision in the discretion of the board.

(d) The regional board may prescribe requirements although no discharge report has been filed.

(e) Upon application by any affected person, or on its own motion, the regional board may review and revise requirements. All requirements shall be reviewed periodically.

(f) The regional board shall notify in writing the person making or proposing the discharge or the change therein of the discharge requirements to be met. After receipt of the notice, the person so notified shall provide adequate means to meet the requirements.

(g) No discharge of waste into the waters of the state, whether or not the discharge is made pursuant to waste discharge requirements, shall create a vested right to continue the discharge. All discharges of waste into waters of the state are privileges, not rights.

(h) The regional board may incorporate the requirements prescribed pursuant to this section into a master recycling permit for either a supplier or distributor, or both, of recycled water.

(i) The state board or a regional board may prescribe general waste discharge requirements for a category of discharges if the state board or that regional board finds or determines that all of the following criteria apply to the discharges in that category:

(1) The discharges are produced by the same or similar operations.

(2) The discharges involve the same or similar types of waste.

(3) The discharges require the same or similar treatment standards.

(4) The discharges are more appropriately regulated under general discharge requirements than individual discharge requirements.

(j) The state board, after any necessary hearing, may prescribe waste discharge requirements in accordance with this section.

(Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 421, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1996.)