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Stormwater Permits
Mid-Atlantic Stormwater Quick Finder |
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A municipal separate storm sewer system.
A conveyance or system of conveyances (including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains):
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Owned or operated by a State, city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body;
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Designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater;
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Which is not a combined sewer; and
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Which is not part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
District of Columbia MS4 Green Infrastructure Enhancement
October 26, 2009 - US EPA and WV DEP Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Training & Forum (PDF) (1 pg, 31K, About PDF)
Which discharges need permits? The NPDES stormwater permit regulations, put into law by the EPA, cover 3 classes of stormwater discharges on a nationwide basis:
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s)
- Operators of MS4s located in “urbanized areas.” This means cities and towns like Philadelphia and Baltimore that own or operate municipal conveyance systems (includes roads, drainage systems, municipal streets, curbs and gutter, and storm drains).
Industrial
- Industrial facilities in any of the 11 categories that discharge to an MS4 or to rivers and streams.
- Categories include: hazardous waster treatment, storage, or disposal facilities, steam electric power generating facilities, sewage treatment works, and landfills.
- If an industry’s materials and operations are not exposed to stormwater, stormwater permit coverage may not be necessary (must apply for a “no exposure” certification).
Construction
- Disturb 1 or more acres of land.
- Less than 1 acre if part of a larger development.
