Municipal operation inspections

Municipal operation inspections

The municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) General Permit requires inspections of certain municipally owned/operated facilities, areas, or stormwater best management practices (BMPs) (MS4 General Permit Part III.D.6.e). This includes:

• Annual inspections of structural stormwater BMPs to determine structural integrity, function, and maintenance needs.
• At least one inspection every permit term of stormwater ponds and outfalls to determine structural integrity, function, and maintenance needs.
• Quarterly inspections of stockpiles, and storage and material handling areas identified in the Facility Inventory to determine function and maintenance needs.

During each of these inspections, inspectors must look for evidence of illicit discharges (MS4 General Permit Part III.D.3.c.). All inspections must be documented (MS4 General Permit Part III.D.6.h.(1)).

Resources

Fact sheets and guidance documents

• MPCA Managing Stormwater Sediment BMPs guidance - Guide for properly managing sediment from stormwater systems, such as ponds
• Documentation that MS4 staff should retain - List of all the documentation requirements (what information to keep, how long to keep it, level of detail to keep, etc.) for compliance with the MS4 permit

Checklists and templates

BMP inspection checklists

• Rain garden/bioretention basin inspection checklist - University of Minnesota's (U of M) checklist for inspecting bioretention systems, such as rain gardens
• Constructed wetland inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting constructed wetlands
• Dry pond inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting dry ponds
• Filter strips and swales inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting filter strips and swales
• Filtration system inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting filtration systems
• Infiltration system inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting infiltration systems
• Underground sedimentation inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting underground sedimentation devices
• Wet pond inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting wet ponds
• Permeable pavements inspection checklist - U of M's checklist for inspecting permeable pavers

Outfall inspection checklists

• Outfall inspection checklist - City of Rochester's checklist for inspecting outfalls
• Outfall inspection checklist - City of Arden Hills' checklist for inspecting outfalls