MS4 Digital Document Library

About the Digital Document Library

Welcome to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) Digital Document Library (DDL). The DDL is a space for stormwater program staff to store and circulate example documents that are being used to manage stormwater pollution prevention programs (SWPPPs). In the DDL, you'll find inspection checklists and forms, site plan review checklists, documentation tracking mechanisms, standard operating procedures, photos/graphics, and many more useful materials to help you implement your SWPPP.

Documents in the DDL are available to all site users for download and use. MPCA staff have reviewed all materials to ensure their compliance with the MS4 General Permit prior to posting.

We believe that having example documents will reduce the resources (staff time, financial, etc.) required to implement effective SWPPPs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of the documents in the DDL may not meet the minimum requirements in the new 2020 MS4 General Permit. If you have questions about any of the documents, please contact MPCA MS4 staff.

Search by minimum control measure (MCM)

To find what you're looking for, enter the minimum control measure (MCM) section below that corresponds to the area in which you need assistance.

• MCM 1 Public Education and Outreach - public education outreach materials, public education implementation plan, examples of how to document outreach activities, and examples of outreach materials
• MCM 2 Public Participation/Involvement - examples of how to document events held
• MCM 3 Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination - regulatory mechanism to prohibit illicit discharges, illicit discharge recognition training, procedures for investigating, locating, and eliminating the source of illicit discharges, and spill response procedures
• MCM 4 Construction Site Stormwater Control - site plan review procedures & items to evaluate, construction site inspection procedures and inspection checklists, and documentation of site plan reviews
• MCM 5 Post-Construction Stormwater Management - legal mechanisms for long-term maintenance of structural stormwater best management practices (BMPs), site plan review checklists
• MCM 6 Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping - facilities inventory examples; procedures for determining pond effectiveness of treating total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP); inspection checklists for documenting structural stormwater BMPs, stormwater management ponds, outfalls, stockpiles, and storage and material handling areas; employee training commensurate with the employee's job responsibilities
• General Stormwater Program Management - examples of how to track activities applicable to your SWPPP, enforcement response procedures

Search by document category

Or, search by document categories:

• Fact sheets
• Checklist tables
• Checklist documents
• Examples of procedures
• Guidance and outreach materials
• MS4 case studies

Photo Library

Finding high quality photographs to use in your outreach materials or other stormwater program activities is difficult. We're compiling pictures into a Photo Library that you can download and use as you see fit. Until we get that up and running, check out the MPCA's Flickr page, or any of the albums below. Images on the Flickr site generally have caption and background information included. We request that you attribute the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as the source of any image you use.

• Construction stormwater
• General stormwater
• Industrial stormwater
• Algal blooms
• Erosion
• Water
• Flooding and effects
• Kids in nature
• Nature
• Road salt and chloride
• Shoreline health and development
• Lakes
• Rivers, streams, and ditches
• Water recreation
• Watersheds
• Wetlands
• Yards and yard maintenance

Within this manual we also have thousands of images. You can find them at the following links.

• Best management practices
• Better site design
• Bioretention
• Case studies
• Construction stormwater
• Erosion prevention
• Green roofs
• Harvest and reuse
• Hydrology and geology
• Infiltration
• Municipal stormwater
• Operation and maintenance
• Permeable pavement
• Photo galleries
• Pollutant images and photos
• Pollution prevention
• Stormwater ponds and wetlands
• Pretreatment
• Sand filters, iron enhanced sand filters, media filters
• Sediment control practices
• Soil and media
• Swales
• Tree trench
• Vegetation

Acknowledgements

We'd like to thank those who have submitted materials to the library, including:

• City of Oakdale
• City of Cloquet
• City of Prior Lake
• City of Cottage Grove
• City of Columbia Heights
• City of West St. Paul
• City of Champlin
• City of Arden Hills
• City of Rochester
• City of St. Paul Park
• Washington Conservation District
• City of Faribault
• Rice Creek Watershed District
• City of Crystal
• University of Minnesota
• City of Red Wing
• Scott Soil and Water Conservation District
• East Metro Water Resource Education Program
• City of Elk River
• Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Organization
• Anoka Conservation District
• City of Owatonna
• City of Rice Lake
• Empire Township
• City of Hutchinson
• City of Big Lake
• Minnesota State (MnSCU)
• City of Golden Valley
• City of Burnsville
• Winona County
• City of Bayport
• West Lakeland Township
• Blue Earth County
• City of Eden Prairie
• City of Centerville