MS4 Annual Report

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permittees must submit annual reports to the MPCA. Permittees provide information about their MS4 activities, including education efforts, inspections, enforcement, trainings, progress towards Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) waste load allocations (WLAs), and more. There will be no MS4 annual report submission in calendar year 2023. Please read below for more details.

MS4 Annual Report Update

All MS4 permittees covered by the 2020 MS4 General Permit will not need to submit an annual report for calendar year 2022, by June 30, 2023. Instead, when the e-service is released, MS4 permittees will be expected to report MS4 activities for each previous reporting year (e.g., calendar years 2022 and 2023).

The MPCA is in the process of developing a new e-service for the MS4 annual report. In addition, the MPCA is revising/updating many annual report questions to align with the requirements in the 2020 MS4 General Permit and meet the requirements of the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule. The MPCA will communicate to MS4 permittees when the new e-service becomes available, but tentatively anticipates the e-service will be released in 2024. Following the conclusion of the MS4 annual report for calendar year 2021, the MPCA MS4 program discontinued its use of the Snap Survey platform to host the MS4 annual report. This means MS4 permittees that have coverage under the 2020 MS4 General Permit do not need to submit an annual report for calendar year 2022 by June 30, 2023. Instead, when the e-service is released, MS4 permittees will be expected to report MS4 activities for each previous reporting year (e.g., calendar years 2022 and 2023).

MS4 permittees covered by the 2020 MS4 General Permit should ensure they are tracking information required in permit item 25.3, which includes:

1. Status of compliance with permit requirements (Example: Permittee indicates whether they have the regulatory mechanisms required in Minimum Control Measures 3, 4, and 5)
2. Documentation required in Sections 13-24 of the permit (Examples: Education and outreach activities, public participation events, number of construction site inspections conducted, number and types of enforcement tools issued, training events, number of inspections conducted for ponds, outfalls, and structural stormwater BMPs, etc.)
3. Best management practices (BMPs) implemented to make progress towards achieving applicable WLAs and associated pollutant loading reductions. This includes a status update of the BMPs included in the permittee’s WLA compliance schedule, which was submitted as part of the permit application. See the TMDL annual report webpage for more information.
4. Any partnerships with other MS4 permittees
5. Changes made to the permittee’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP) over the reporting year
6. The permittee’s plans for the next reporting year

View questions in the MS4 Annual Report for 2021 (outdated--for reference only)

The file below is an example of questions contained in the old version of the MS4 annual report which reflects the requirements of the 2013 MS4 General Permit. The document is for historical reference purposes only.

File:MS4 question worksheet for 2021 annual report.docx

Questions about the annual report?

Contact Cole Landgraf (cole.landgraf@state.mn.us).

For questions related to the TMDL annual report, contact Anna Bosch (anna.bosch@state.mn.us).