Construction stormwater permit overview

Construction stormwater permit overview

A technical summary of Minnesota’s NPDES permit

This fact sheet provides summary information. Please review the NPDES/SDS Construction Stormwater General Permit for more detailed information. Ecological harm

By following the terms and conditions of the construction stormwater permit, Minnesota’s construction workers reduce the environmental pressure of earth-moving activities on Minnesota’s water.

In days or weeks, land disturbing activities at construction sites has the potential to contribute more sediment to streams than is deposited naturally over several decades. The environmental damage is severe and often permanent. Polluted runoff clouds streams, harming or killing fish and other aquatic organisms. Sediment deposits accelerate filling-of lakes. Sediment also carries nutrients that cause excessive plant growth and algae that contribute to the eutrophication process. Increased volume of runoff caused by the creation of new impervious surfaces can cause severe erosion in receiving waters and may change the contours of a river and wipe out valuable habitats like gravel stream beds which are necessary for fish spawning. Other pollutants at construction sites such as concrete wash water, petroleum products, chemicals, construction materials and sewage may pose a risk to both surface and groundwater and need to be properly handled and stored.

Regulatory mandate

Minnesota’s construction stormwater permit is an extension of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Program, which is part of the Federal Clean Water Act.

The NPDES Stormwater Program is a comprehensive national program for addressing polluted runoff. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is ultimately responsible for the quality of the nation’s water, but in Minnesota, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) administers this federal program as well as the related State Disposal System (SDS) permit program. The states combined NPDES/SDS construction stormwater permit fulfills federal and state requirements by requiring permittees to control runoff.

Enforcement

The federal government requires NPDES permit coverage of construction sites that disturb one or more acres. Sites that lack permit coverage and/or fail to meet permit terms and conditions will be subject to MPCA enforcement action, civil penalties and/or criminal charges. Owners and operators of construction activity that fail to obtain permit coverage are open to third-party civil suits.

Application process

Prior to submitting an application, regulated parties must develop a complete and accurate Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) in accordance with the stormwater discharge design requirements in Part III and Part IV of the permit. The construction stormwater permit application must be submitted using the MPCA Online Services system along with electronic payment of the $400 application fee.

The application fee can be submitted online via credit card or e-check. Instructions for completing the application process can be found at the Steps to Construction site. Permit coverage is effective seven calendar days after submitting a complete application. An authorized party, such as a consultant or legal counsel, may complete the application for the project owner. Both the owner and the contractor must be listed on the application.

If the applicant is unable to apply online due to lack of internet access or other reasons, the MPCA can be contacted at 651-757-2119 or 800-657-3804 for assistance to receive a waiver and instructions for obtaining a paper application form.

Projects that are not eligible for permit issuance within seven days for sites disturbing 50 acres or more where stormwater will discharge within a mile to special waters or to impaired waters, the application and SWPPP must be submitted for review at least 30 days prior to construction.

Special waters are described in Appendix A part B of the permit and are Outstanding Resource Value Waters (ORVW), including calcareous fens, trout lakes and trout streams. The permit also describes impaired waters as those waters identified as impaired under section 303 (d) of the Federal Clean Water Act and are impaired for at least one of four construction related impairments of phosphorus (nutrient eutrophication biological indicators), turbidity, dissolved oxygen or aquatic biota (fish bioassessment, aquatic plant bioassessment and aquatic macroinvertebrate bioassessment).

The MPCA has an online map tool that can be used to determine if the site is within one mile of a special or impaired water. The distance is measured using a straight line (aerial radius measurement) not the flow distance from the closest project discharge point to the nearest edge of the water body.