Difference between revisions of "Stormwater Program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)"
Special:WhatLinksHere/Download page with TMDL forms > The Simple Method for estimating phosphorus export > Construction stormwater photo gallery - Perimeter control > Stormwater Program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)

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	Background Information; 2020 MS4 General Permit; MS4 Stormwater Permits (Individual); Previous Permits; Minimum Control Measures; Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs); Tools and Resources; MS4 Audit Guidance; MPCA MS4 Technical Assistance; Other Resources and Documents;

Latest revision as of 19:17, 19 August 2024

Information: We recently updated this page and will continue to work on information about MS4 stormwater management. If you have suggestions, we welcome comments using the comment box at the bottom of most pages in the manual.

Information: NOTE: Minnesota uses the term Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) for MS4 stormwater, while several states and EPA may use the term Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP). These terms refer to the same thing.

MPCA MS4 staff contact information can be found at this link

The municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) stormwater program is designed to reduce the amount of sediment and pollution that enters surface and ground water from storm sewer systems. Public entities that own or operate an MS4 play a key role in preventing or reducing the negative impacts stormwater runoff has on our valuable water resources.

Proper stormwater runoff management in urbanized areas is especially important for restoring and protecting surface waters. Urbanized areas are more likely to have activities that contribute pollutants to stormwater runoff, like applying anti/deicing mixtures to roads; fueling vehicles; grease, oil, and other spills; landscaping; and using pesticides and fertilizers. Urbanized areas have a large amount of impervious surfaces, or surfaces that rain and snowmelt cannot pass through, such as streets, driveways, rooftops, parking lots and sidewalks. Stormwater runoff from these surfaces travels faster and in higher amounts, damaging rivers, streams, and wetlands; destroying aquatic habitats; increasing the amount of pollutants that enter surface waters; and limiting groundwater recharge and the MS4 program is to help mitigate the impact.

Background Information

Regulated MS4 permittees are required to develop a stormwater pollution prevention program (SWPPP) to reduce the pollutants entering the municipality's storm sewer system. When applying for the MS4 permit, permittees identified measurable goals they intended their SWPPP to reach. Based on these goals, permittees should evaluate the effectiveness of their program and make any necessary changes.

2020 MS4 General Permit

MS4 Individual Stormwater Permits

2018 St. Paul Phase I Permit

Past Permits

Minimum Control Measures

When seeking to manage a Municipal Storm Sewer System (MS4), an effective Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) has six different components known as Minimum Control Measures (MCMs).

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) are EPA approved amounts of pollutant loading that can occur and have a water body meet water quality standards. Follow this link to learn more about them along with guidance and resources.

Tools and Resources

Assessing Total Suspended Sediment and Total Phosphorus Removal Efficiency of Permittee Owned/Operated Constructed Stormwater Ponds - guidance related to assessing the total suspended sediment (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiency of MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permittee owned/operated ponds constructed and used for the collection and treatment of stormwater.
Checklist and Maintenance Documents and Examples of Procedures for MS4 BMP Methods
MS4 Mapping Tool - An interactive online map tool to view and explore Minnesota MS4 boundaries, defined urbanized areas, impaired waters, outstanding resource value waters, trout waters and approved TMDL study areas.
Pollution Prevention Guidance Fact Sheets - A Collection of Minnesota Stormwater Manual Fact Sheets on MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Methods.

MS4 Audit Guidance

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to evaluate MS4 permittees for compliance with the MS4 General Permit. The MPCA does this through compliance audits. To find out more information about the audit process see the pages below:

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-{{alert|This page is an edit and testing page use by the wiki authors.  It is not a content page for the Manual. Information on this page may not be accurate and should not be used as guidance in managing stormwater.|alert-danger}}
+<!-- if you want code on table creation, look on this web page source code in the manual "Assessing total suspended sediment and total phosphorus removal efficiency of permittee owned/operated constructed stormwater ponds"
+<!-- alerts are created using this command -->
 {{alert|We recently updated this page and will continue to work on information about MS4 stormwater management. If you have suggestions, we welcome comments using the comment box at the bottom of most pages in the manual.|alert-info}}
 {{alert|NOTE: Minnesota uses the term Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) for MS4 stormwater, while several states and EPA may use the term Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP). These terms refer to the same thing.|alert-info}}
+<!--
+additionally, call outs can be created using the "pre" command to open a block of text you want highlighted and then closed using /pre
+-->
+<!--
+-->
+<!-- this file creates the picture on the screen. The file needs to be uploaded to the website in order to use this command as "Aerial city.jpg" is the file name stored on the wiki. For example, the true image is stored on this web page https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Aerial_city.jpg -->
 [[file:Aerial city.jpg|300px|left|alt=icon for MS4 stormwater]]
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+<!-- This code is for creating the picture next to the "jump to page section" within a page -->
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+[[file:Check it out.png|150px|thumb|alt=image|<font size=3> [https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_staff_contact_information_and_staff_assignments  <b><center>MPCA MS4 staff contact information can be found at this link]</center></b></font size>]]
+<!--
-[[file:Check it out.png|150px|thumb|alt=image|<font size=3> [https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_staff_contact_information_and_staff_assignments  <b><center>MPCA MS4 staff contact information can be found at this link]</center></b></font size>]]
+-->
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+<!-- to create links within the wiki the * makes a bullet point, the [ opens the link command, the url is where you want it to point and the words after the URL is the text you want displayed and then it must be closed by a bracket ] -->
+<!-- alternatively, a second method can be used to link straight to pages in the wiki and that is just using double brackets ([[]]) with the page name inserted. So [[Stormwater Program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)]] would create a link within the wiki itself as the wiki reads double brackets as an internal link. It is important to note that links are case sensitive so any word capitalized needs to be capitalized in the links too -->
+<!-- to point to a section, it is just the page url then adding #section_name. So background information is a section in this page and to target that specific section it is fullregularurl#background_information -->
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Aaron_test_MS4_page#Background_Information Background Information]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Aaron_test_MS4_page#2020_MS4_General_Permit 2020 MS4 General Permit]
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+<!-- regular text just needs to be typed in and doesn't require any additional commands -->
 The municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) stormwater program is designed to reduce the amount of <span title="any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water"> '''sediment'''</span> and pollution that enters surface and ground water from storm sewer systems. Public entities that own or operate an MS4 play a key role in preventing or reducing the negative impacts stormwater <span title="the portion of rainfall or snowmelt not immediately absorbed into the soil that drains or flows off the land and becomes surface flow"> '''runoff'''</span> has on our valuable water resources.
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+ignore this, this was experimental
 <div title="A municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) is a means of transportation, individually or in a system, (e.g. roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, storm drains, etc.) that are:
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 -->
+<!-- the command br is used to "force" an enter if it isn't registering with the system when enter is used to create a new line -->
+<!-- the = sign is to set the "section level" that an item is at. This is the "heading 1,2,3" equivalent in Microsoft word. So = is top level == is level 2, === is level 3, etc. -->
 <br>
 ==Background Information==
 Regulated MS4 permittees are required to develop a stormwater pollution prevention program (SWPPP) to reduce the pollutants entering the municipality's storm sewer system. When applying for the MS4 permit, permittees identified measurable goals they intended their SWPPP to reach. Based on these goals, permittees should evaluate the effectiveness of their program and make any necessary changes.
 *[[What is a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)?]]
-*[[Why is a municipality regulated under the MS4 permit?]] <FONT color = #FF0000> DELETE OTHER RESOURCES - PERHAPS THIS CAN BE COMBINED WITH THE "WHAT IS AN MS4?" LINK ABOVE? </font>
+*[[Why is a municipality regulated under the MS4 permit?]]
 <br>
 ==2020 MS4 General Permit==
-*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm4-94.pdf 2020 MS4 General Permit PDF Version]
+*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm4-94.pdf 2020 MS4 General Permit]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_General_Permit_reissuance 2020 MS4 General Permit Reissuance Page]
 *[[2020 MS4 General Permit|2020 MS4 General Permit Wiki Version]]
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 <br>
-==MS4 Stormwater Permits (Individual)==
+==MS4 Individual Stormwater Permits==
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Mpls_MS4Permit_Mod.pdf 2018 Minneapolis Phase I Permit]
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Final_Permit-StPaul_MS4Permit.pdf 2018 St. Paul Phase I Permit]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Final_Permit-StPaul_MS4Permit.pdf 2018 St. Paul Phase 1 permit]
 <br>
-==Previous Permits==
+==Past Permits==
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=2013_MS4_General_Permit 2013 MS4 General Permit]
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Mpls_MS4Permit_Mod.pdf 2018 Minneapolis Phase I Permit]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Minneapolis_2011_Phase_I_Permit_-_Minnesota_Stormwater_Manual_July_2022.pdf 2011 Minneapolis Phase I Permit]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:St_Paul_2011_Phase_I_Permit_-_Minnesota_Stormwater_Manual_July_2022.pdf 2011 St. Paul Phase I Permit]
-<!-- *[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm4-51.pdf 2006 permit] -->
 <br>
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 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MCM_6_Pollution_Prevention/Good_Housekeeping Minimum Control Measures 6 - Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping]
 <br>
-<pre>WENT THROUGH AND CHECKED REDUNDANT AND BROKEN LINKS ON THE TEST MCM PAGES ALREADY - CHECK TO MAKE SURE ANY DELETED PAGES IN "WHAT LINKS HERE" ARE PROPERLY UPDATED TO THE NEW PAGES - I.E. ANY MCM STUFF POINTING TO THE MS4 TOOLKIT ARE UPDATED TO THE LANDING PAGE OR APPROPRIATE MCM</pre>
 ==Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)==
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 ==Tools and Resources==
-<pre> CLEANED UP SOME OF THE BLOCK TEXT AND WIDDLED IT DOWN TO A MORE CLEAR AND CONCISE MESSAGE OR REMOVED TEXT ALL TOGETHER BECAUSE TITLE IS SELF EXPLANATORY</pre>
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Assessing_total_suspended_sediment_and_total_phosphorus_removal_efficiency_of_permittee_owned/operated_constructed_stormwater_ponds Assessing Total Suspended Sediment and Total Phosphorus Removal Efficiency of Permittee Owned/Operated Constructed Stormwater Ponds] - guidance related to assessing the total suspended sediment (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiency of MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permittee owned/operated ponds constructed and used for the collection and treatment of stormwater.
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Regulatory/Municipal_(MS4)/Procedures_and_checklists#Checklist_Documents Checklist and Maintenance Documents and Examples of Procedures for MS4 BMP Methods] <FONT color = #FF0000> PAGE NEEDS TRANSFERRANCE </font>
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Regulatory/Municipal_(MS4)/Procedures_and_checklists#Checklist_Documents Checklist and Maintenance Documents and Examples of Procedures for MS4 BMP Methods]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Documentation_requirements_and_documents_to_retain_under_the_MS4_permit Documentation Requirements and Documents to Retain Under the MS4 Permit] <FONT color = #FF0000>LINKS HAVE BEEN CHECKED, OK FOR DELETING</FONT>
 *[https://mpca.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8d310e604baa43699b25395834d0c69a MS4 Mapping Tool] - An interactive online map tool to view and explore Minnesota MS4 boundaries, defined urbanized areas, impaired waters, outstanding resource value waters, trout waters and approved TMDL study areas.<br>
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=New_permit_requirements_and_related_guidance_materials New Permit Requirements and Related Guidance Materials] <FONT color = #FF0000>LINKS HAVE BEEN CHECKED, OK FOR DELETING</font>
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_fact_sheets Pollution Prevention Guidance Fact Sheets] - A Collection of Minnesota Stormwater Manual Fact Sheets on MS4 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Methods.
 <br>
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 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to evaluate MS4 permittees for compliance with the [https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm4-59k.pdf MS4 General Permit]. The MPCA does this through compliance audits. To find out more information about the audit process see the pages below:
 *[https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/documents/measurablegoals.pdf EPA's measureable goal guidance for developing and evaluating a stormwater progarm's goal]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=General_Stormwater_Program_Management General Stormwater Program Management - Examples for tracking activities in your SWPPP] <FONT color = #FF0000>THIS PAGE HAS BEEN WORKED INTO THE MAIN PAGE AND CAN BE DELETED</font>
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Phase_II_MS4_audit_process Phase II MS4 Audit Process]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Self-audit_guidance_for_Phase_II_MS4s Self-Audit Guidance for Phase II MS4s]
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 ==Other Resources and Documents==
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Aaron_test_ms4_acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Contributors] <FONT color = #FF0000>PAGE NEEDS TRANSFERRANCE OF THE TEST PAGE TO LIVE PAGE</FONT>
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_Stormwater_Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Contributors]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Aaron_test_ms4_photo_library MS4 Outreach Photo Library] <FONT color = #FF0000>PAGE NEEDS TRANSFERRANCE OFF TEST PAGE TO LIVE PAGE</font>
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=MS4_Photo_Library MS4 Outreach Photo Library]
 *[https://youtu.be/xx1pgugfXeU MS4 Program Overview and Minimum Control Measures (MCM) Descriptions - YouTube Video]
 *[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Pond,_lake,_and_wetland_inventory Pond, Lake, and Wetland Inventory]
 *[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm1-07.pdf Stormwater and Wetlands - Planning and Evaluation Guidelines]
 *[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-strm4-28.pdf Untreated Stormwater Runoff to Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands]