Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4) Program Audits
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National Links
- Case Studies
- Evaluation Guidance
- Arizona MS4 Program Evaluations
- California MS4 Program Evaluations
- Hawaii MS4 Program Evaluations
- Nevada MS4 Program Evaluations
- Report Summaries
- Contact Information
Program evaluations of Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4) are being conducted to determine permittee compliance with NPDES permit requirements and to evaluate the implementation status of EPA's stormwater regulations.
The program evaluations are also being conducted to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the MS4 program. This includes obtaining an overall picture of MS4 compliance, documenting positive elements of programs that may benefit other municipalities, identifying ways to improve the reporting aspects of MS4 programs, and developing guidance to assist inspectors in conducting future MS4 evaluations.

The program evaluation reports identify potential permit violations, program efficiencies, and positive attributes of each program. The reports do not represent a formal finding of violation.
The following audits (listed chronologically) have been conducted by Tetra Tech, Inc. in conjunction with state regulatory authorities through a U.S. EPA Region 9 contract.
EPA Region 9 Case Studies
EPA has developed a series of stormwater case studies to help Phase II municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) get started on or improve their stormwater management programs. These case studies present additional information about notable program elements in the EPA Region 9 states of Arizona, California, and Hawaii. Each case study is a two- to three-page description of how a Phase I or Phase II community has implemented a specific aspect of its stormwater program. The case studies are organized by program area, but they do not necessarily represent all the activities that each community is undertaking to implement that minimum measure. Each case study description includes links to materials that further describe or were developed for the case study and the minimum control measure.
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program Evaluation Guidance
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Adobe Reader.
The MS4 Evaluation Guide is primarily for use by NPDES authorities to evaluate the quality of Phase I and Phase II MS4 programs, for permit compliance, technical assistance, and other purposes. It can be used for comprehensive program evaluations, or for certain components. It can also be used by MS4 program managers to evaluate their own programs.
Arizona MS4 Program Evaluations
| Location | Date of Evaluation | Documents |
| Phoenix - City of Phoenix | October, 2001 | Phoenix (PDF) (12 pp, 157K) |
| Tucson Area - Pima County, Cities of Tucson and Marana | May, 2006 | Tucson (PDF) (25 pp, 191K) |
California MS4 Program Evaluations
| Location | Date of Evaluation | Documents |
| Alameda - Cities of Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, and Oakland | November, 2001 | Alameda (PDF) (19 pp, 190K) |
| American Canyon - City of American Canyon | June, 2005 | American Canyon (PDF) (8 pp, 88K) |
| Bakersfield - City of Bakersfield andKern County | November, 2002 | Bakersfield-Kern (PDF) (18 pp, 649K) |
| Caltrans - District 5 | July, 2002 | Caltrans (PDF) (12 pp, 169K) |
| Contra Costa - Cities of Antioch, Brentwood, and Oakley | March, 2005 | Contra Costa (PDF) (30 pp, 274K) |
| Contra Costra - Cities of Concord, Pinole, Pittsburg, Richmond, and San Pablo | September, 2004 | Contra Costa (PDF) (37 pp, 386K) |
| Contra Costa - Cities of Hercules and Pittsburg, Walnut Creek, and Concord, Contra Costa County, and Contra Costa Clean Water Program | May, 2003 | Contra Costa (PDF) (26 pp, 192K) |
| Elk Grove - City of Elk Grove | April, 2005 | Elk Grove (PDF) (16 pp, 191K) |
| Fresno - Cities of Fresno and Clovis, and the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District (District) | January, 2005 | Fresno area (PDF) (20 pp, 186K) |
| Lake Tahoe - City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County and Placer County | June, 2002 | Lake Tahoe (PDF, 13 pp, 154K) |
| Long Beach - City of Long Beach | August, 2001 | Long Beach (PDF) (19 pp, 262K) |
| Long Beach - Port More information |
November, 2007 | Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles (42 pp, 2.9M) Letter from the Port of Long Beach (26 pp, 2.6M) |
| Los Angeles SUSMP - LA County and Cities of Glendale, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Measures (SUSMP) | March, 2003 | LA SUSMP Nov 03 (PDF) (63 pp, 503K) |
| Los Angeles Construction Program - Cities of Calabasas, Carson, Glendora, Pomona and Santa Clarita | August, 2006 | Los Angeles Construction (PDF) (31 pp, 168K) |
| Los Angeles - Port More information |
November, 2007 | Ports of Long Beach & Los Angeles (42 pp, 2.9M) Letter from the City of Los Angeles (3 pp, 83K) |
| Modesto - City of Modesto | February, 2004 | Modesto (PDF) (11 pp, 154K) |
| Murrieta - City of Murieta | September, 2007 January, 2008 |
Murrieta (PDF) (13pp, 427K) |
| Napa - City of Napa | June, 2005 | Napa (PDF) (9 pp, 53K) |
| Orange County - Cities of Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita | May, 2005 | Orange County (PDF) (34 pp, 308K) |
| Orange County - Orange County and Cities of Mission Viejo, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano | June, 2003 | Orange County (PDF) (31 pp, 292K) |
| Petaluma - City of Petaluma | June, 2005 | Petaluma (PDF) (7 pp, 78K) |
| Riverside - Cities of Corona, Moreno Valley and Riverside. | May, 2004 | Riverside County (PDF) (21 pp, 280K) |
| Sacramento - County of Sacramento and the Cities of Folsom, Galt, and Sacramento | March, 2002 | Sacramento (PDF) (25 pp, 309K) |
| Salinas - City of Salinas | July, 2003 | Salinas (PDF) (17 pp, 188K) |
| San Bernardino - Cities of Fontana and Redlands and San Bernardino County | October, 2004 | Fontana (PDF) (12 pp, 160K) Redlands (PDF) (13 pp, 165K) San Bernardino (PDF)(14 pp, 170K) |
| Santa Clara - Cities of Milpitas, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Santa Clara County | April, 2005 | Santa Clara (PDF) (23 pp, 171K) |
| Santa Clara - City of San Jose and County of Santa Clara | December, 2003 | Santa Clara-SanJose (PDF) (19 pp, 270K) Monitoring evaluation report (PDF) (11 pp, 55K) |
| San Diego - Cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and El Cajon. Review of Jurisdictional Urban Runoff Management Programs (JURMPs) | May, 2002 | San Diego (PDF) (21 pp, 209K) |
| San Diego - Cities of Encinitas, Lemon Grove, Poway, and Santee | April, 2004 | San Diego 5 (PDF) (20 pp, 204K) |
| San Diego - Cities of Escondido, National City, Oceancide | February, 2003 | San Diego 3 (PDF) (23 pp, 237K) |
| San Diego - Cities of Imperial Beach, La Mesa, San Marcos, and Vista | October, 2003 | San Diego 4 (PDF) (31 pp, 338K) |
| San Diego - City of San Diego, County of San Diego | October, 2002 | San Diego City (PDF) (17 pp, 195K) San Diego County (PDF) (15 pp, 177K) |
| San Diego SUSMP - Cities of San Diego, Carlsbad, Lemon Grove, Chula Vista, Oceanside, National City, Poway, El Cajon, Escondido and San Diego County. Review of Jurisdictional Urban Runoff Management Programs (JURMPs) | March, 2005 | SUSMP Report (PDF) (53 pp, 399K) |
| San Diego - Cities of Solana Beach, Coronado, and Del Mar and Port of San Diego | November, 2004 | San Diego 6 (PDF) (20 pp, 241K) |
| San Mateo - County of San Mateo and Cities of South San Francisco, Foster City, Pacifica, Redwood City, and San Mateo | August, 2002 | San Mateo (PDF) (25 pp, 169K) |
| Santa Rosa - City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and the Sonoma County Water Agency | March, 2002 | Santa Rosa (PDF) (16 pp, 150K) |
| Stockton - City of Stockton and San Joaquin County | December, 2002 | Stockton-San Joaquin (PDF) (16 pp, 182K) |
| Stockton - Port of Stockton | July, 2008 | Port of Stockton (PDF) (88 pp, 16M) |
| Temecula | September, 2007 January, 2008 |
City of Temecula (PDF) (37 pp, 3.5M) |
| Ventura - Ventura County Flood Control District and the Cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, and Simi Valley | October, 2001 | Ventura (PDF) (18 pp, 143K) |
| Ventura SQUIMP - Cities of Fillmore, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, the County of Ventura, and the Ventura County Watershed Protection District. Storm Water Quality Storm Water Quality Urban Impact Mitigation Plan (SQUIMP) requirements | August, 2004 | Ventura (PDF) (26 pp, 1.3 M) |
Hawaii MS4 Program Evaluations
| Location | Date of Evaluation | Documents |
| Honolulu/HDOT | October, 2003 | HDOT (PDF, 21 pp, 1.6 MB, This PDF file is not accessible for screen readers, if necessary, contact EPA for the document's content.) |
| September, 2003 | City and County of Honolulu (PDF) (19 pp, 1.5MB) | |
| September, 2003 | Marine Corp. Base,Kanoche Bay (PDF) (10 pp, 164K) | |
| Honolulu/HDOT | September, 2004 | HDOT (PDF) (11 pp, 232K) City and County of Honolulu (PDF) (8 pp, 171K) |
Nevada MS4 Program Evaluations
| Location | Date of Evaluation | Documents |
| Las Vegas Area: Clark County, Clark County Regional Flood Control District, and Cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson | September, 2005 | Final Report (PDF) (207 pp, 20MB) Final Appendices (PDF) (164 pp, 20MB) Follow-up Letter from EPA (PDF) (5 pp, 215K) |
| Reno - Cities of Reno and Sparks, Washoe County and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) | January, 2002 | Reno (PDF) (12 pp, 293K) |
Report Summaries
Tetra Tech's summary of work performed to assess stormwater compliance in California, as well as a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations for improvement of stormwater program.
| Document | Date |
| Tetra Tech's Assessment Report on California Industrial Stormwater Program (PDF) (41 pp, 678K) | July 12, 2006 |
| Tetra Tech's Assessment Report on California MS4 Program (PDF) (28 pp, 773K) | July 12, 2006 |
Contact Information
Jeremy Johnstone (johnstone.jeremy@epa.gov)
Office of Water Compliance and Enforcement
(415) 972-3499
John Tinger (tinger.john@epa.gov)
Office of Water NPDES Permits and Standards
(415) 972-3018
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