Tennessee Reissues MS4 Permit
Tennessee’s 2010 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Phase II General Permit was reissued August 31, 2010. Check out the state’s website for all the details at http://tn.gov/environment/wpc/stormh2o/MS4II.shtml.
This permit reissuance extends coverage requirements to additional municipalities and other entities, including universities and military installations. MS4s are required to submit Notices of Intent (NOI) to their local Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Environmental Field Offices by the end of November 2010. The MS4s must develop, implement, and enforce a Storm Water Management Program designed to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the MS4 to protect water quality.
Specific program elements include:
- Public education and outreach
- Public involvement/participation
- Illicit discharge detection and elimination
- Construction site storm water runoff control
- Permanent storm water management in new development and redevelopment
- Pollution prevention/good housekeeping for municipal operations
EnSafe has attended training sessions in East and West Tennessee on the permit reissuance and is available to help permittees submit their NOIs. Some of the big changes to the permit include:
- Requirement for MS4s to increase their performance standards for permanent storm water management by requiring runoff reduction design for infiltration, evapotranspiration, and reuse of the first inch of every rainfall event.
- Requirement for MS4s to complete the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Water Quality Scorecard within one year to evaluate codes and ordinances, and later to revise them.
- Requirement to monitor each impaired stream segment (303[d] list), based on stream impairment and pollutant type, once during the five-year permit cycle with both analytical and visual stream survey and impairment inventory components to assess MS4 program effectiveness.
Specialized expertise is needed to address the impacts of the new requirements. EnSafe’s Katherine Terry, CPESC, CHMM, is available to assist municipalities and other entities with storm water concerns. Call her at 1-800-588-7962.
