(b)
Small MS4s.
1.
Scope of
Coverage. All operators of small MS4s located within the
boundaries of an urbanized area of Massachusetts are required to obtain
coverage under the general permit, unless the Department determines that such
an automatically designated small MS4 meets the criteria for a waiver, as
determined by the Department, or is subject to an individual surface water
discharge permit issued pursuant to
314 CMR 3.00.
2.
Additional Department
Authority to Designate Other MS4s. The Department may designate an
operator of a small MS4 located outside of an urbanized area as a regulated
small MS4 if the Department determines that the system's discharges cause, or
have the potential to cause, an adverse impact on water quality. Any such
designation shall be based on a criteria developed by the Department that
considers factors such as whether the discharge is to sensitive waters, high
population density, high growth or growth potential, continuity to an urbanized
area, whether the discharge is a significant contributor of pollutants to the
receiving waters, and ineffective protection of water quality concerns by other
programs. The Department shall apply its designation criteria, at a minimum, to
all small MS4s located outside of an urbanized area serving a jurisdiction with
a population of at least 10,000 and a population density of at least 1000
persons per square mile. The Department may also designate any small MS4
located outside of an urbanized area that contributes substantially to the
pollutant loadings of a physically interconnected MS4 regulated by the general
permit or an individual permit issued by the Department pursuant to
314 CMR 3.00.
3.
Waiver of Coverage for Certain
Automatically Designated Small MS4s. The Department may waive the
requirement that an automatically designated MS4 obtain coverage under the
general permit in the following circumstances:
a. the jurisdiction served by the system is
less than 1,000 people, the system is not contributing substantially to the
pollutant loadings of a physically interconnected regulated MS4, and if the
small MS4 discharges any pollutants identified as a cause of impairment of any
water body to which it discharges, storm water controls are not needed based on
wasteload allocations that are part of a TMDL established by the Department
that addresses the pollutant(s) of concern; or
b. the jurisdiction served by the system is
less than 10,000 people, an evaluation of the waters hat receive a discharge
from the system shows that storm water controls are not needed based on
wasteload allocations that are part of a TMDL established by the Department
that addresses the pollutant(s) of concern or an equivalent analysis, and the
Department determines that future discharges from the small MS4 do not have the
potential to result in exceedances of water quality standards.
c. At least once every five years, the
Department shall review any waivers that it granted to small MS4 operators to
determine whether any information required for granting the waiver has
changed.
4.
Storm Water Management Program Requirements. An
operator of a small MS4 covered under the general permit shall develop,
implement and enforce a storm water management program designed to reduce the
discharge of pollutants from its small MS4 to the maximum extent practicable to
protect water quality, and to satisfy the water quality requirements of M.G.L.
c. 21, §§ 26 through 53 and
314 CMR 3.00 and
4.00. An operator's storm
water management program must include the minimum control measures described in
314 CMR 3.06(11)(b)5.a. through f., unless the operator applies for and is
issued an individual surface water discharge permit pursuant to
314 CMR 3.00. If the
Department determines that there is an existing qualifying state or local
program that requires an operator to implement one or more of the minimum
control measures, the Department may include conditions in the general permit
that direct the operator to follow that program's requirements rather than the
minimum control measure(s). For the purposes of 314 CMR 3.06(6), narrative
effluent limitations requiring implementation of BMPs are generally the most
appropriate form of effluent limitations when designed to satisfy technology
requirements, including reductions of pollutants to the maximum extent
practicable, and to protect water quality. Implementation of BMPs consistent
with the provisions of the storm water management program required pursuant to
the provisions of 314 CMR 3.06(11)(b), including the proper maintenance of
BMPs, generally constitutes compliance with the standard of reducing pollutants
to the "maximum extent practicable."? However, consistent with its authority
under 314 CMR 3.06(8), the Department reserves the right to require an operator
of a small MS4 to undertake additional control measures, BMPs and other actions
beyond the scope of the operator's existing storm water management program to
ensure compliance with the general permit, water quality standards, and/or to
protect public health and the environment. The Department may also condition
the general permit to require measurable verification of the effectiveness of
BMPs and additional operational and maintenance activities associated with
BMPS, and other control measures in the operator's storm water management
program, including water quality monitoring.
5.
Minimum Control
Measures. The storm water management program of an operator of a
small MS4 covered under the general permit shall include the following six
minimum control measures:
a.
Public Education and Outreach. The operator shall
implement a public education program to distribute educational materials to the
community or conduct equivalent outreach activities about the impacts of storm
water discharges on water bodies and the steps that the public can take to
reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff, such as ensuring the proper use and
disposal of landscape and garden chemicals including fertilizers and
pesticides, protecting and restoring riparian vegetation, and properly
disposing of used motor oil or household hazardous wastes. In addition, some of
the educational materials or outreach programs should be directed toward
targeted groups of commercial, industrial, and institutional entities likely to
have significant storm water impacts.
b.
Public
Participation/Involvement. The operator shall, at a minimum,
comply with applicable Department and other state and local public notice
requirements when implementing a public involvement/participation program. The
operator should include the public in developing, implementing and reviewing
its storm water management program and the public participation process should
make efforts to reach out and engage all economic and ethnic groups.
c.
Illicit Discharge Detection
and Elimination. The operator shall develop, implement and enforce
a program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges into its small MS4,
including:
(i) Develop, if not already
completed, a storm sewer system map showing the locations of all outfalls and
the names and location of all waters of the Commonwealth that receive
discharges from those outfalls;
(ii) To the extent allowable under state and
local law, effectively prohibit, through ordinance, or other regulatory
mechanism, non-storm water discharges into its storm sewer system and implement
appropriate enforcement procedures and actions;
(iii) Develop and implement a plan to detect
and address non-storm water discharges, including illegal dumping, to its
system;
(iv) Inform public
employees, businesses, and the general public of hazards associated with
illegal discharges and improper disposal of wastes; and
(v) Address the following categories of
non-storm water discharges or flows (i.e., illicit discharges)
only if the operator has identified them as significant contributors of
pollutants to its small MS4: water line flushing, landscape irrigation,
diverted stream flows, rising ground waters, uncontaminated ground water
infiltration, uncontaminated pumped ground water, discharges from potable water
sources, foundation drains, air conditioning condensation, irrigation water,
springs, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn watering,
individual residential car washing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands,
dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and street wash water (discharges or
flows from fire fighting activities are excluded from the effective prohibition
against non-storm water and need only be addressed by the operator where they
are identified as significant sources of pollutants to waters of the
Commonwealth).
d.
Construction Site Runoff Control. The operator shall
develop, implement and enforce a program to reduce pollutants in any storm
water runoff to its small MS4 from construction activities that result in a
land disturbance of greater than or equal to one acre. Reduction of storm water
discharges from construction activity disturbing less than an acre shall be
included in the operator's program if that construction activity is part of a
larger common plan of development or sale that would disturb one acre or more.
If the Department waives requirements for storm water discharges associated
with small construction activity in accordance with 314 CMR 3.06(11)(b)3., the
operator is not required to develop, implement, and/or enforce a program to
reduce pollutant discharges from such sites. The operator shall include the
development and implementation of, at a minimum:
(i) An ordinance or other regulatory
mechanism to require erosion and sediment controls, as well as sanctions to
ensure compliance, to the extent allowable under state and local law;
(ii) Requirements for construction site
operators to implement appropriate erosion and sediment control best management
practices;
(iii) Requirements for
construction site operators to control wastes such as discarded building
materials, concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, and sanitary waste at the
construction site that may cause adverse impacts to water quality;
(iv) Procedures for site plan review which
incorporate consideration of potential water quality impacts;
(v) Procedures for receipt and consideration
of information submitted by the public, and
(vi) Procedures for site inspection and
enforcement of control measures.
e.
Post-construction Site Runoff
Control. The operator shall develop, implement and enforce a
program to address storm water runoff from new development and redevelopment
projects that disturb greater than or equal to one acre, including projects
less than one acre that are part of a larger common plan of development or
sale, that discharge into its small MS4. The program shall ensure that controls
are in place that would prevent or minimize water quality impacts. The operator
shall also comply with the following requirements:
(i) Develop and implement strategies that
include a combination of structural and/or non-structural BMPs appropriate for
the community;
(ii) Use an
ordinance or other regulatory mechanism to address post-construction runoff
from new development and redevelopment projects to the extent allowable under
state and local law; and
(iii)
Ensure adequate long-term operation and maintenance of BMPs.
f.
Pollution
Prevention/Good Housekeeping. The operator shall develop and
implement an operation and maintenance program that includes a training
component and has the ultimate goal of preventing or reducing storm water
pollution from activities such as park and open space maintenance, new
construction and land disturbances, and storm water system
maintenance.
6.
Ability to Share Responsibility to Implement the Minimum Control
Measures. An operator of a small MS4 may rely on another entity to
satisfy its general permit obligation to implement a minimum control measure
if:
a. The other entity, in fact, implements
the control measure;
b. The
particular control measure, or component thereof, is at least as stringent as
the corresponding general permit requirement;
c. The other entity agrees to implement the
control measure on behalf of the operator of the small MS4. In reports that the
operator of the small MS4 is required to submit to the Department pursuant to
314 CMR 3.06(11)(b)7., the operator shall specify that it relies on another
entity to satisfy some of its general permit obligations and shall identify
such other entity; and
d. The
operator of the small MS4 remains responsible for compliance with its general
permit obligations if the other entity fails to implement the control measure,
in whole or in part.
7.
Evaluation and Assessment of the Storm Water Management
Program.
a.
Evaluation. The operator of a small MS4 shall evaluate
the compliance of its storm water management program with the general permit,
the appropriateness of its best management practices, and progress towards
achieving its identified measurable goals, in accordance with the general
permit and Department requirements.
b.
Recordkeeping.
The operator of the small MS4 shall keep records required by the general permit
for at least three years. The operator shall submit such records to the
Department only when specifically asked to do so by the Department. The
operator shall make its records, including a description of its storm water
management program, available to the public at reasonable times during regular
business hours, subject to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, the state
public records law.
c.
Reporting. Unless the operator of a small MS4 is
relying on another entity to satisfy its general permit obligations under 314
CMR 3.06(11)(b)6., it shall submit annual reports to the Department during the
first term of the general permit. For subsequent permit terms, the operator
shall submit reports in years two and four, unless the Department requires more
frequent reports. The report shall include:
(i) The status of compliance with the
conditions of the general permit, an assessment of the appropriateness of its
best management practices, and progress towards achieving its identified
measurable goals, in accordance with the general permit and Department
requirements;
(ii) The results of
information collected and analyzed, including monitoring data, if any, during
the reporting period;
(iii) A
summary of storm water activities that the operator plans to undertake during
the next reporting cycle;
(iv) A
change in any identified BMPs or measurable goals for any of the minimum
control measures; and
(v) If
applicable, notice that the operator is relying on another entity to satisfy
some of its general permit obligations.
8.
Compliance with More Stringent
Effluent Limits. The operator shall comply with any more stringent
effluent limitations, including permit requirements that modify, or are in
addition to, the minimum control measures based on a TMDL or equivalent
analysis approved by the Department. The Department may include in the general
permit such more stringent limitations based on a TMDL or equivalent analysis
that determines such limitations are needed to protect water quality.
9.
Applying for Coverage under
the Small MS4 General Permit. On or before March 10, 2003,
operators of small MS4s regulated under the Phase II Storm Water Rule and 314
CMR 3.06(6)(b) shall submit to the Department a written notice of intent to be
covered by the general permit. In its notice of intent, the operator shall
identify and submit the following minimum information:
a. The BMPs that the operator or another
entity will implement for each of the storm water minimum controls identified
in 314 CMR 3.06(11)(b)5.a. through f.;
b. The measurable goals for each of the BMPs
including, as appropriate, the months and years in which the operator will
undertake required actions, including interim milestones and the frequency of
action; and
c. The person or persons
responsible for implementing or coordinating the operator's storm water
management program.
An operator of a regulated small MS4 is not covered by any
general permit for Phase II Storm Water Discharges issued by the Department
pursuant to 314 CMR 3.06(11)(b) unless the operator submits a timely and
completed notice of intent to the Department; and the Department notifies the
operator in writing that its MS4 is covered by the general permit. Operators of
regulated MS4s who fail to submit a notice of intent to the Department and
receive no written notification of permit coverage or those who are denied by
the Department are not authorized under the general permit to engage in
activities subject to 314 CMR 3.06(11)(b).
