Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media Contact: Walker Smith, (651) 297-7018 Technical Contact: Dale Thompson, (651) 296-5897 Toll-free: (800) 657-3864 St. Paul, Minn. -- As part of Governor Pawlenty's "Drive to Excellence" initiative, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has created an online permit application system for its construction stormwater program. The initiative seeks to increase the electronic delivery of government services and bring private sector solutions to the management of state government's information technology systems. The new MPCA Online Services system will make it easier for the construction industry to obtain state and federal permits. The agency intends to add other business transactions in the future. Sediment-filled stormwater runoff is the leading source of pollution for Minnesota's surface waters by volume. Permit requirements reduce the amount of sediment and other pollutants transported by rainfall and snowmelt from construction sites and ensure proper management of post-construction runoff. The construction stormwater program strives to minimize polluted runoff that contributes to impairments in our state's waters. "I commend the MPCA for its efforts to help make Minnesota a national leader in both environmental protection and e-government services," Governor Pawlenty said. The new online application is located at: hhref="/water/stormwater/stormwater-c.html. A comprehensive list of the steps to construction and information needed to complete the online application process is available at: hhref="/water/stormwater/stormwater-c-steps.html. Contact Shanna Denis at (651) 297-1457 or shanna.denis@pca.state.mn.us if you have questions about the online application. Owners and operators of construction activity disturbing one acre or more of land need to develop stormwater pollution prevention plans and use best management practices to control sediment-laden and polluted runoff from construction sites. Sites disturbing less than one acre within a larger common plan of development or sale that is more than one acre are also regulated. Permanent stormwater management systems must be installed when more than one acre of new impervious surface is created. Stormwater regulations are part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency delegated permitting authority for Minnesota's NPDES program to the MPCA. Visit hhref="/water/stormwater/index.html or call the MPCA Customer Assistance Center, (651) 297-2274 or (800) 646-6247, for a copy of the permit and more information about Minnesota's Stormwater Program. On April 21st the governor directed a thorough security review of all executive branch Web sites. Throughout the planning, design and development of this online application, the MPCA applied industry best practices for the technical architecture and application design. System security was a critical requirement during all facets of the application's design, and the agency has used the latest technology to maintain the security of applicant information.