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Public Works, Energy & Utilities EPA launches effort to aid storm water compliance
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun a compliance assistance initiative to help cities and towns identify and eliminate illegal storm sewer connections.
Municipal storm sewer systems (MS4s) collect rain and snowmelt from streets and drain them to local rivers and streams. Some sewage lines or industrial discharges can be improperly connected to storm sewers, however, leading to raw sewage or other pollutants reaching water bodies.
Discharges from MS4s can also include infiltration from cracked sanitary systems, spills collected by drain outlets, or paint or used motor oil dumped directly into a drain. These discharges contribute bacteria, heavy metals, toxins, petroleum products, solvents, nutrients, viruses and bacteria to receiving water bodies. The EPA has found that illegal sewage connections are major contributors to pollution in New England’s rivers and streams.
The EPA’s assistance initiative includes:
• Workshops and webinars
• A GPS Unit Training and Loan Program to help communities meet critical sewer outfall mapping requirements
• A National Storm Water Web page, which addresses specific municipal storm water compliance needs
• Collaborative partnerships among EPA New England and municipalities to increase awareness and compliance with storm water regulations, to identify best management practices, and to share strategies to achieve compliance on a cost-effective basis
Last year a group of Massachusetts local officials, including then-MMA President Bruce Tobey, traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with top EPA officials to express concern about a number of unfunded federal mandates, assistances to cities and towns, and communications between the EPA and communities.
The local officials told the regional administrator for the EPA’s New England office that strict wastewater and storm water standards are placing a financial burden on cities and towns at a time when local budgets are already stretched to the limit.
Over the past year, a committee representing communities met with EPA regional officials and discussed the issues of financial and technical assistance, affordability, and communication.
The EPA has cited eight Massachusetts communities for failing to meet municipal storm sewer system (MS4) permit requirements, though more than 200 cities and towns met the standards.
Requirements include producing maps of storm sewers, passing ordinances or bylaws prohibiting non-storm-water discharges to the storm sewers, and implementing plans to find and remove improper connections to the storm sewers.
The EPA is seeking financial penalties from the eight communities, though the penalties maybe used to meet compliance orders. The communities will be required to implement a plan to identify and eliminate illegal sewage connections and to monitor storm water discharges to impaired waters in order to identify the illegal sewage connections.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Water Resources Stewardship was scheduled to meet on Sept. 1 to discuss the EPA enforcement actions and to seek better communication between the EPA and communities.
The EPA is in the process of reissuing storm water permits for communities in Massachusetts. A draft permit for Massachusetts communities is expected later this year. The requirements will include enhanced requirements to identify and eliminate illegal sewer connections.
Public Works, Energy & Utilities EPA launches effort to aid storm water compliance
EPA launches effort to aid storm water compliance
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun a compliance assistance initiative to help cities and towns identify and eliminate illegal storm sewer connections.
Municipal storm sewer systems (MS4s) collect rain and snowmelt from streets and drain them to local rivers and streams. Some sewage lines or industrial discharges can be improperly connected to storm sewers, however, leading to raw sewage or other pollutants reaching water bodies.
Discharges from MS4s can also include infiltration from cracked sanitary systems, spills collected by drain outlets, or paint or used motor oil dumped directly into a drain. These discharges contribute bacteria, heavy metals, toxins, petroleum products, solvents, nutrients, viruses and bacteria to receiving water bodies. The EPA has found that illegal sewage connections are major contributors to pollution in New England’s rivers and streams.
The EPA’s assistance initiative includes:
• Workshops and webinars
• A GPS Unit Training and Loan Program to help communities meet critical sewer outfall mapping requirements
• A National Storm Water Web page, which addresses specific municipal storm water compliance needs
• Collaborative partnerships among EPA New England and municipalities to increase awareness and compliance with storm water regulations, to identify best management practices, and to share strategies to achieve compliance on a cost-effective basis
Last year a group of Massachusetts local officials, including then-MMA President Bruce Tobey, traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with top EPA officials to express concern about a number of unfunded federal mandates, assistances to cities and towns, and communications between the EPA and communities.
The local officials told the regional administrator for the EPA’s New England office that strict wastewater and storm water standards are placing a financial burden on cities and towns at a time when local budgets are already stretched to the limit.
Over the past year, a committee representing communities met with EPA regional officials and discussed the issues of financial and technical assistance, affordability, and communication.
The EPA has cited eight Massachusetts communities for failing to meet municipal storm sewer system (MS4) permit requirements, though more than 200 cities and towns met the standards.
Requirements include producing maps of storm sewers, passing ordinances or bylaws prohibiting non-storm-water discharges to the storm sewers, and implementing plans to find and remove improper connections to the storm sewers.
The EPA is seeking financial penalties from the eight communities, though the penalties maybe used to meet compliance orders. The communities will be required to implement a plan to identify and eliminate illegal sewage connections and to monitor storm water discharges to impaired waters in order to identify the illegal sewage connections.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Water Resources Stewardship was scheduled to meet on Sept. 1 to discuss the EPA enforcement actions and to seek better communication between the EPA and communities.
The EPA is in the process of reissuing storm water permits for communities in Massachusetts. A draft permit for Massachusetts communities is expected later this year. The requirements will include enhanced requirements to identify and eliminate illegal sewer connections.
Written by MMA Senior Legislative Analyst Tom Philbin
