D. As
an operator of a regulated small MS4, what will my MS4 permit require?
1. Your MS4 permit will require at a minimum
that you develop, implement, and enforce a stormwater management program
designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from your MS4 to the maximum
extent practicable (MEP), to protect water quality, and to satisfy the
appropriate water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act, the Virginia
Erosion and Stormwater Management Act, and the State Water Control Law. Your
stormwater management program must include the minimum control measures
described in subdivision 2 of this subsection unless you apply for a permit
under 9VAC25-875-950 C. For purposes of
this section, narrative effluent limitations requiring implementation of best
management practices (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 best management practices consistent with the
provisions of the stormwater management program required pursuant to this
section and the provisions of the permit required pursuant to subsection C of
this section constitutes compliance with the standard of reducing pollutants to
the maximum extent practicable. The department will specify a time period of up
to five years from the date of permit issuance for you to develop and implement
your program.
2. Minimum control
measures.
a. Public education and outreach on
stormwater impacts.
(1) You must implement a
public education program to distribute educational materials to the community
or conduct equivalent outreach activities about the impacts of stormwater
discharges on water bodies and the steps that the public can take to reduce
pollutants in stormwater runoff.
(2) NOTE: You may use stormwater educational
materials provided by the state, your tribe, EPA, environmental, public
interest or trade organizations, or other MS4s. The public education program
should inform individuals and households about the steps they can take to
reduce stormwater pollution, such as ensuring proper septic system maintenance,
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. The department recommends that the program inform individuals and
groups how to become involved in local stream and beach restoration activities
as well as activities that are coordinated by youth service and conservation
corps or other citizen groups. The department recommends that the public
education program be tailored, using a mix of locally appropriate strategies,
to target specific audiences and communities. Examples of strategies include:
distributing brochures or fact sheets, sponsoring speaking engagements before
community groups, providing public service announcements, implementing
educational programs targeted at school-age children, and conducting
community-based projects such as storm drain stenciling, and watershed and
beach cleanups. In addition, the department recommends that some of the
materials or outreach programs be directed toward targeted groups of
commercial, industrial, and institutional entities likely to have significant
stormwater impacts. For example, providing information to restaurants on the
impact of grease clogging storm drains and to garages on the impact of oil
discharges. You are encouraged to tailor your outreach program to address the
viewpoints and concerns of all communities, particularly minority and
disadvantaged communities, as well as any special concerns relating to
children.
b. Public
involvement/participation.
(1) You must, at a
minimum, comply with state, tribal, and local public notice requirements when
implementing a public involvement/participation program.
(2) The department recommends that the public
be included in developing, implementing, and reviewing your stormwater
management program and that the public participation process should make
efforts to reach out and engage all economic and ethnic groups. Opportunities
for members of the public to participate in program development and
implementation include serving as citizen representatives on a local stormwater
management panel, attending public hearings, working as citizen volunteers to
educate other individuals about the program, assisting in program coordination
with other pre-existing programs, or participating in volunteer monitoring
efforts. (Citizens should obtain approval where necessary for lawful access to
monitoring sites.)
c.
Illicit discharge detection and elimination.
(1) You must develop, implement, and enforce
a program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges (as defined in
9VAC25-875-850) into your small
MS4.
(2) You must:
(a) Develop, if not already completed, a
storm sewer system map, showing the location of all outfalls and the names and
location of all surface waters that receive discharges from those
outfalls;
(b) To the extent
allowable under state, tribal, or local law effectively prohibit, through
ordinance or other regulatory mechanism, nonstormwater discharges into your
storm sewer system and implement appropriate enforcement procedures and
actions;
(c) Develop and implement
a plan to detect and address nonstormwater discharges, including illegal
dumping, to your system; and
(d)
Inform public employees, businesses, and the general public of hazards
associated with illegal discharges and improper disposal of waste.
(3) You need to address the
following categories of nonstormwater discharges or flows (i.e., illicit
discharges) only if you identify them as significant contributors of pollutants
to your small MS4: water line flushing, landscape irrigation, diverted stream
flows, rising groundwaters, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration (as defined
in 40 CFR
35.2005(20)), uncontaminated
pumped groundwater, 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 nonstormwater
and need only be addressed where they are identified as significant sources of
pollutants to surface waters.)
(4)
NOTE: The department recommends that the plan to detect and address illicit
discharges include the following four components:
(i) procedures for locating priority areas
likely to have illicit discharges,
(ii) procedures for tracing the source of an
illicit discharge,
(iii) procedures
for removing the source of the discharge, and
(iv) procedures for program evaluation and
assessment. The department recommends visually screening outfalls during dry
weather and conducting field tests of selected pollutants as part of the
procedures for locating priority areas. Illicit discharge education actions may
include storm drain stenciling; a program to promote, publicize, and facilitate
public reporting of illicit connections or discharges; and distribution of
outreach materials.
d. Construction site stormwater runoff
control.
(1) You must develop, implement, and
enforce a program to reduce pollutants in any stormwater runoff to your small
MS4 from construction activities that result in a land disturbance of greater
than or equal to one acre, or equal to or greater than 2,500 square feet in all
areas of the jurisdictions designated as subject to the Chesapeake Bay
Preservation Area Designation and Management Regulations adopted pursuant to
the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. Reduction of stormwater discharges from
construction activity disturbing less than one acre must be included in your
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 stormwater discharges associated with small
construction activity in accordance with the definition in
9VAC25-875-20, you are not required
to develop, implement, or enforce a program to reduce pollutant discharges from
such sites.
(2) Your program must
include the development and implementation of, at a minimum:
(a) 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, tribal, or local
law;
(b) Requirements for
construction site operators to implement appropriate erosion and sediment
control best management practices;
(c) Requirements for construction site
operators to control waste 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;
(d) Procedures for site plan review which
incorporate consideration of potential water quality impacts;
(e) Procedures for receipt and consideration
of information submitted by the public; and
(f) Procedures for site inspection and
enforcement of control measures.
(3) NOTE: Examples of sanctions to ensure
compliance include nonmonetary penalties, fines, bonding requirements, or
permit denials for noncompliance. The department recommends that procedures for
site plan review include the review of individual pre-construction site plans
to ensure consistency with erosion and sediment control requirements.
Procedures for site inspections and enforcement of control measures could
include steps to identify priority sites for inspection and enforcement based
on the nature of the construction activity, topography, and the characteristics
of soils and receiving water quality. You are encouraged to provide appropriate
educational and training measures for construction site operators. You may wish
to require a stormwater pollution prevention plan for construction sites within
your jurisdiction that discharge into your system. (See
9VAC25-875-1030 L and subdivision E
2 of this section.) The department may recognize that another government entity
may be responsible for implementing one or more of the minimum measures on your
behalf.
e.
Post-construction stormwater management in new development and redevelopment.
(1) You must develop, implement, and enforce
a program to address stormwater 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 your small MS4. Your program must ensure that
controls are in place that would prevent or minimize water quality
impacts.
(2) You must:
(a) Develop and implement strategies that
include a combination of structural and nonstructural best management practices
(BMPs) appropriate for your community;
(b) Use an ordinance or other regulatory
mechanism to address post-construction runoff from new development and
redevelopment projects to the extent allowable under state, tribal, or local
law; and
(c) Ensure adequate
long-term operation and maintenance of BMPs.
(3) NOTE: If water quality impacts are
considered from the beginning stages of a project, new development and
potentially redevelopment provide more opportunities for water quality
protection. The department recommends that the BMPs chosen be appropriate for
the local community, minimize water quality impacts, and attempt to maintain
pre-development runoff conditions. In choosing appropriate BMPs, the department
encourages you to participate in locally based watershed planning efforts that
attempt to involve a diverse group of stakeholders, including interested
citizens. When developing a program that is consistent with this measure's
intent, the department recommends that you adopt a planning process that
identifies the municipality's program goals (e.g., minimize water quality
impacts resulting from post-construction runoff from new development and
redevelopment), implementation strategies (e.g., adopt a combination of
structural and nonstructural BMPs), operation and maintenance policies and
procedures, and enforcement procedures. In developing your program, you should
consider assessing existing ordinances, policies, programs, and studies that
address stormwater runoff quality. In addition to assessing these existing
documents and programs, you should provide opportunities to the public to
participate in the development of the program. Nonstructural BMPs are
preventative actions that involve management and source controls such as:
(i) policies and ordinances that provide
requirements and standards to direct growth to identified areas, protect
sensitive areas such as wetlands and riparian areas, maintain and increase open
space (including a dedicated funding source for open space acquisition),
provide buffers along sensitive water bodies, minimize impervious surfaces, and
minimize disturbance of soils and vegetation;
(ii) policies or ordinances that encourage
infill development in higher density urban areas, and areas with existing
infrastructure;
(iii) education
programs for developers and the public about project designs that minimize
water quality impacts; and
(iv)
measures such as minimization of percent impervious area after development and
minimization of directly connected impervious areas. Structural BMPs include:
storage practices such as wet ponds and extended-detention outlet structures;
filtration practices such as grassed swales, sand filters, and filter strips;
and infiltration practices such as infiltration basins and infiltration
trenches. The department recommends that you ensure the appropriate
implementation of the structural BMPs by considering some or all of the
following: pre-construction review of BMP designs; inspections during
construction to verify BMPs are built as designed; post-construction inspection
and maintenance of BMPs; and penalty provisions for the noncompliance with
design, construction, or operation and maintenance. Stormwater technologies are
constantly being improved, and the department recommends that your requirements
be responsive to these changes, developments, or improvements in control
technologies.
f. Pollution prevention/good housekeeping for
municipal operations.
(1) You must develop and
implement an operation and maintenance program that includes a training
component and has the ultimate goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff
from municipal operations. Using training materials that are available from
EPA, state, tribe, or other organizations, your program must include employee
training to prevent and reduce stormwater pollution from activities such as
park and open space maintenance, fleet and building maintenance, new
construction and land disturbances, and stormwater system
maintenance.
(2) NOTE: The
department recommends that, at a minimum, you consider the following in
developing your program: maintenance activities, maintenance schedules, and
long-term inspection procedures for structural and nonstructural stormwater
controls to reduce floatables and other pollutants discharged from your
separate storm sewers; controls for reducing or eliminating the discharge of
pollutants from streets, roads, highways, municipal parking lots, maintenance
and storage yards, fleet or maintenance shops with outdoor storage areas,
salt/sand storage locations and snow disposal areas operated by you, and waste
transfer stations; procedures for properly disposing of waste removed from the
separate storm sewers and areas listed above (such as dredge spoil, accumulated
sediments, floatables, and other debris); and ways to ensure that new flood
management projects assess the impacts on water quality and examine existing
projects for incorporating additional water quality protection devices or
practices. Operation and maintenance should be an integral component of all
stormwater management programs. This measure is intended to improve the
efficiency of these programs and require new programs where necessary. Properly
developed and implemented operation and maintenance programs reduce the risk of
water quality problems.
3. If an existing VESMP requires you to
implement one or more of the minimum control measures of subdivision 2 of this
subsection, the department may include conditions in your permit that direct
you to follow that VESMP's requirements rather than the requirements of
subdivision 2 of this subsection. A VESMP is a local, state, or tribal
municipal stormwater management program that imposes, at a minimum, the
relevant requirements of subdivision 2 of this subsection.
4.
a. In
your permit application (either a registration statement for coverage under a
general permit or an individual permit application), you must identify and
submit to the department the following information:
(1) The best management practices (BMPs) that
you or another entity will implement for each of the stormwater minimum control
measures provided in subdivision 2 of this subsection;
(2) The measurable goals for each of the BMPs
including, as appropriate, the months and years in which you will undertake
required actions, including interim milestones and the frequency of the action;
and
(3) The person responsible for
implementing or coordinating your stormwater management program.
b. If you obtain coverage under a
general permit, you are not required to meet any measurable goals identified in
your registration statement in order to demonstrate compliance with the minimum
control measures in subdivisions 2 c through f of this subsection unless, prior
to submitting your registration statement, EPA or the department has provided
or issued a menu of BMPs that addresses each such minimum measure. Even if no
regulatory authority issues the menu of BMPs, however, you still must comply
with other requirements of the general permit, including good faith
implementation of BMPs designed to comply with the minimum measures.
c. NOTE: Either EPA or the department will
provide a menu of BMPs. You may choose BMPs from the menu or select others that
satisfy the minimum control measures.
5.
a. You
must comply with any more stringent effluent limitations in your permit,
including permit requirements that modify or are in addition to the minimum
control measures based on an approved total maximum daily load (TMDL) or
equivalent analysis. The department may include such more stringent limitations
based on a TMDL or equivalent analysis that determines such limitations are
needed to protect water quality.
b.
NOTE: The department strongly recommends that until the evaluation of the
stormwater program in subsection G of this section, no additional requirements
beyond the minimum control measures be imposed on regulated small MS4s without
the agreement of the operator of the affected small MS4, except where an
approved TMDL or equivalent analysis provides adequate information to develop
more specific measures to protect water quality.
6. You must comply with other applicable
permit requirements, standards and conditions established in the individual or
general permit developed consistent with the provisions of
9VAC25-31-190 through
9VAC25-31-250, as
appropriate.
7. Evaluation and
assessment.
a. You must evaluate program
compliance, the appropriateness of your identified best management practices,
and progress towards achieving your identified measurable goals. The department
may determine monitoring requirements for you in accordance with monitoring
plans appropriate to your watershed. Participation in a group monitoring
program is encouraged.
b. You must
keep records required by the permit for at least three years. You must submit
your records to the department only when specifically asked to do so. You must
make your records, including a description of your stormwater management
program, available to the public at reasonable times during regular business
hours (see 9VAC25-875-900 for confidentiality
provision). You may assess a reasonable charge for copying. You may require a
member of the public to provide advance notice.
c. Unless you are relying on another entity
to satisfy your permit obligations under subdivision E 1 of this section, you
must submit annual reports to the department for your first permit term. For
subsequent permit terms, you must submit reports in years two and four unless
the department requires more frequent reports. As of the start date in Table 1
of 9VAC25-31-1020, all reports
submitted in compliance with this subsection shall be submitted electronically
by the owner, operator, or the duly authorized representative of the small MS4
to the department in compliance with this section and 40 CFR Part 3 (including,
in all cases, 40 CFR Part 3 Subpart D),
9VAC25-875-940, and Part XI
(9VAC25-31-950 et seq.) of the
Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) Permit Regulation. Part
XI of 9VAC25-31 is not intended to undo existing requirements for electronic
reporting. Prior to this date, and independent of Part XI of 9VAC25-31, the
owner, operator, or the duly authorized representative of the small MS4 may be
required to report electronically if specified by a particular permit. Your
report must include:
(1) The status of
compliance with permit conditions, an assessment of the appropriateness of your
identified best management practices and progress towards achieving your
identified measurable goals for each of the minimum control measures;
(2) Results of information collected and
analyzed, including monitoring data, if any, during the reporting
period;
(3) A summary of the
stormwater activities you plan to undertake during the next reporting
cycle;
(4) A change in any
identified best management practices or measurable goals for any of the minimum
control measures; and
(5) Notice
that you are relying on another governmental entity to satisfy some of your
permit obligations (if applicable).