Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4) General Permit Reissuance

ATTENTION: Permit Update – May 18, 2012

Public Notice Regarding Issuance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System MS4 General Permit

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) intends to issue the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) State Disposal System (SDS) General Permit (MNR040000) for discharges of stormwater associated with small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s). See the MPCA Public Notice Web page for the public notice for the draft MS4 General Permit.

The MPCA will host a public information meeting to discuss the draft MS4 General Permit on Thursday, June, 21, 2012, from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the MPCA St. Paul office located at 520 Lafayette Road North, St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.

The MPCA also intends to establish an e-mail list for the purpose of providing notification to persons interested in receiving notice of the public notice dates for the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) documents submitted pursuant to the MS4 General Permit. Requests to be placed on this e-mail list should be submitted in accordance with the provisions of the public notice located on the Web page identified above.

The draft permit is open for public comment from May 21 - July 23, 2012. The MPCA is requesting comments on the draft permit. Comments on the draft permit should be submitted in writing in accordance with the provisions of the public notice. The draft permit and supporting documents for the permit are provided below.

• Draft NPDES/SDS General Permit for Small MS4s (MNR040000) (wq-strm4-59h)
• Draft NPDES/SDS General Permit for Small MS4s (MNR040000) (wq-strm4-59b) with revisions to draft permit placed on public notice 5/31/2011
• Draft NPDES/SDS General Permit for Small MS4s (wq-strm4-59c)
• Technical Support Document for Nondegradation for Small MS4s (wq-strm4-59d)
• Guidance for Post-construction Stormwater Treatment (wq-strm4-59e)

Draft Permit

The MS4 General Permit issued in 2006 addressed the new federal Phase II National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater regulations for small MS4s. These federal rules identified an iterative process for improved stormwater management where MS4 programs are strengthened with each five year permit cycle. This current permit reissuance effort shifts from the initial focus on permit program development to measuring program implementation. For the next MS4 General Permit reissuance (2017), the MPCA will need to comply with the new federal NPDES stormwater rules initially expected to be final in December 2012 (a revised date is pending) .

The draft MS4 General Permit was first placed on public notice May 31 through July 15, 2011. The MPCA held two public information meetings on the draft permit in June 2011; these meetings were webcast and the links are provided below. The MPCA received multiple requests to extend the public comment period on the draft permit, and subsequently extended the public notice comment period from August 8-29, 2011.

• Webcast - Informational meeting (published: 06/16/11)
• Webcast - Informational meeting (published: 06/14/11)

The MPCA received 35 comment letters and two contested case hearing requests on the draft permit. Staff reviewed and considered all comments received, and held four large group stakeholder meetings December 2011- March 2012, to discuss proposed concepts for revisions to the draft permit to address key permit issues identified in comments. Two of the four stakeholder meetings were webcast; the links are provided below. The draft permit was revised based in part on comments received and input obtained from the stakeholder meetings held on revisions to the draft permit, and is the subject of the public notice identified above.

• Webcast - Stakeholder meeting (published: 03/29/12)
• Webcast - Stakeholder meeting (published: 02/09/12)

Proposed Schedule for Permit Reissuance

(revised 5/18/2012)

Stakeholder & Work Group Meetings

As part of the permit reissuance process, the MPCA held stakeholder meetings to solicit input and gather feedback from stakeholders on the main issues that need to be addressed in this permit reissuance. Based on interest, a small group of stakeholders was formed to work through the issues in work group meetings.

Initial stakeholder input meeting (large group) - January 14, 2010

• MS4 General Permit Reissuance Meeting Presentation and Notes (wq-strm4-85b)

Stakeholder meeting dates (small work group):

• March 3, 2010
• March 17, 2010
• April 6, 2010
• April 23, 2010
• April 29, 2010

The notes from these meetings have been compiled into one document below.

Permit Issues

Draft concepts to address the main issues were prepared and used to frame the work group discussions. Below is the list of main issues the MPCA plans to focus its' efforts on for this permit reissuance; and the meeting notes which contain the draft concepts for each issue, with stakeholder comments.

• Impaired waters & total maximum daily loads
• Construction stormwater erosion & sediment control
• Post construction BMP operation & maintenance
• Mapping your system
• SWPPPs & coordination with local water plans
• Non-degradation
• One size does not fit all
• Minimum control measure for education
• Permit Concepts and Issues Work Group Meeting Notes (wq-strm4-85a)

Additional Links

• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Phase II Final Rule
• EPA NPDES Stormwater Rulemaking
• EPA MS4 Permit Improvement Guide

Permit Contacts

• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 651-757-2323, Lead Permit Writer & Technical Questions
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 651-757-2439, Timeline & Administrative Process
• Marni Karnowski, 651-757-2495, Supervisor