Stormwater Management Phase II
| Overview |
| What is Stormwater? |
| Why is Stormwater a Problem? |
| What's being done? |
In response to the 1987 Amendments to the
Clean Water Act (CWA), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed Phase
I of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) Storm Water Program in 1990. The Phase I program
addressed sources of storm water runoff that had the greatest
potential to negatively impact water quality. The Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is responsible for administering
the program in NYS as part of the State Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (SPDES). Under Phase I, SPDES permit coverage
was required for storm water discharges from medium and large
municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) located in
incorporated places or counties, eleven categories of industrial
activity and construction activity that disturbed five or
more acres of land.
The Phase II Final Rule, published in the
Federal Register on December 8, 1999, expanded the stormwater
permit program to include stormwater discharges from certain
regulated small MS4s and construction activity that disturbs
between 1 and 5 acres of land. On January 8, 2003, the DEC
finalized two-new permits for stormwater discharges in NYS
as required by the Federal EPA; the small MS4 and small construction
permits.
The MS4 permit requires regulated municipal
MS4s (those with a minimum population density of 1000 people
per square mile and are located in urban areas as defined
by the U.S. Census Bureau) to develop and fully implement
a stormwater management program by 2008. Stormwater management
programs must contain appropriate management practices in
each of the following minimum control measure categories: Public
Education and Outreach; Public
Involvement and Participation; Illicit
Discharge Detection and Elimination; Construction
Site Stormwater Runoff Control; Post-Construction
Site Stormwater Runoff Control; and Pollution
Prevention for Municipal Employees.
As a first step toward obtaining SPDES permit
coverage regulated MS4s were required to submit a Notice
of Intent (NOI) form to DEC by March 10, 2003. The NOI required
MS4s to provide an initial outline of planned management
practices and to identify measurable goals to annually assess
progress toward the full implementation of an appropriate
stormwater management plan. Although DEC has specified a
few required actions and provided a list of approved management
practices for each minimum control category, regulated MS4s
are encouraged to tailor the development of their stormwater
management programs to best meet local stormwater problems.
DEC is encouraging MS4s to take a watershed
approach to local stormwater management by working with neighboring
MS4s to develop complementary or cooperative programs for
solving shared problems. By combining efforts, sharing costs
and working together, regulated municipalities will recognize
a higher level of environmental benefits at a decreased program
cost.
All publicly funded MS4s operating within
the boundaries of regulated municipal MS4s are also subject
to the Phase II permit requirements. Examples of other regulated
MS4s include school districts, public universities, prisons,
state agencies and more. Defining the jurisdictional responsibilities
of all regulated entities remains a somewhat difficult process
at this time. It's expected that individual responsibilities
will become more easily enforceable as municipal programs
develop and are fully implemented. Eventually, the MS4 permit
program will be expanded statewide.
The small construction permit is somewhat
different in that it is already a statewide requirement.
Operators of all small construction activities disturbing
at least one acre of soil must obtain a construction permit
prior to breaking ground regardless of whether or not the
construction takes place within a regulated MS4. Small construction
operators must file an NOI form and develop an approved stormwater
management plan that includes provisions for managing post-construction
stormwater runoff over the life of the project. The one-acre
soil disturbance is a cumulative threshold. In other words,
if a construction activity disturbs less than one acre of
soil, but is part of a common development plan that will
cumulatively disturb one-acre or more, a construction permit
is required for the entire development.
Stormwater is water from rain or melting
snow that doesn't soak into the ground but runs off into
waterways. As it flows from rooftops, over paved areas, bare
soil, and through sloped lawns it picks up a variety of materials
including soil, animal waste, salt, pesticides, fertilizers,
oil and grease, debris and other potential pollutants. The
quality and quantity of runoff is affected by a variety of
factors depending on the season, local meteorology, geography
and activities taking place along the path of its flow.
Stormwater gathers a variety of pollutants
that are mobilized during runoff events. Polluted runoff
degrades our lakes, rivers, wetland and other waterways .
Transported soil clouds receiving waters and interferes with
fish habitat and aquatic plant life.
Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen
can be harmful to aquatic life by promoting the overgrowth
of algae and depleting oxygen in the waterway. Toxic chemicals
from automobiles, sediment from construction activities and
careless application of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers
threaten the health of the receiving waterway and can kill
fish and other aquatic life. Bacteria from animal wastes
and illicit connections to sewer systems can make nearby
lakes and bays unsafe for wading, swimming and the propagation
of edible shellfish. According to an inventory conducted
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
half of the impaired waterways in the United States are affected
by stormwater runoff from urban/suburban and construction
sources.
Significant improvements have been achieved
in controlling pollutants that are discharged from point
sources such as sewage and wastewater treatment plants. Across
the nation, attention is shifting to non-point sources of
pollution such as stormwater runoff. Stormwater management,
especially in urban areas, is becoming a necessary step in
the process of further reducing water pollution despite the
inherent challenges it brings.
Stormwater runoff cannot be treated using
the same end-of-pipe controls appropriate for sewage and
wastewater treatment plants. Pollutants in Stormwater runoff
enter our waterways in numerous ways and the best point of
control is usually at the pollutant's source. Significant
water quality improvement can be made by employing best management
practices, or "BMPs". Proper storage of chemicals, good housekeeping
and just plain paying attention to what's happening during
runoff events can lay the ground work for developing a relatively
inexpensive stormwater pollution prevention program.
The EPA and the NYSDEC are increasing their
attention to stormwater pollution prevention in several ways.
A federal regulation, commonly known as Stormwater Phase
II, requires permits for stormwater discharges from Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) in urbanized areas and
for construction activities disturbing one or more acres.
To implement the law, the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation has issued two general permits, one for MS4s
in urbanized areas and one for construction activities. The
permits are part of the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES).
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