Warning: 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.

MS4 Accelerated Implementation

The goal of this project is to provide technical assistance to MS4s to help build sustainable and effective local stormwater management programs.

Meeting the goal of this project means that there is:

  • informed and empowered staff – people who have the knowledge and resources to implement their program
  • staff accountable to program outcomes – people set goals for their program and review successes and failures and modify programs as needed
  • the ability to leverage partnerships and others’ knowledge – no need to recreate the wheel

Stormwater stakeholder survey

In the fall of 2017, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) solicited input to identify technical assistance and outreach needs of the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) regulated community. The MPCA conducted an electronic survey of representatives from the MS4 regulated community, including municipal program managers, consultants, and staff involved in implementing local stormwater pollution prevention programs (SWPPPs). The full results can be found on the 2017 MS4 Technical Assistance and Outreach Needs Survey Results page.

The following are highlights of the results:

  • MS4s need help implementing all parts of their stormwater programs
  • Most respondents indicated wanting assistance with TMDLs and assistance with MCM 5 or Post-Construction Stormwater Management
  • The specific types of guidance wanted relates to the following:
    • modules for employee training
    • pond assessment procedures
    • enforcement response procedures and issuing enforcement
  • Local MS4 staff would like to receive the technical assistance via fact sheets or webinars

Completed accelerated implementation projects

Fact sheets and guidance were created and can be found throughout the Stormwater Manual and the links below.

  • MS4 Digital Document Library: Provides guidance to help local MS4 staff meet the requirements of the six Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) in the MS4 General Permit and assist with overall stormwater management. In addition to general guidance documents and photos/graphics, the Digital Document Library has example documents that stormwater staff are using to manage their stormwater pollution prevention programs (SWPPPs). All documents in the Digital Document Library are MPCA reviewed and available for anyone to download and use.

Examples of materials include:

    • site plan review guidance
    • site inspection checklists
    • required documentation guidance
  • Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) toolkit Update: A collection of resources for use by stormwater program staff. It is intended to help entities regulated under the MS4 program meet the requirements of the general permit. It offers a wide range of downloadable stormwater education information including sample fact sheets, newsletters, videos, and other resources.
  • 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 to help the MS4 community evaluate progress towards meeting TMDL goals.

Examples of materials include:

    • modeling guidance
    • monitoring strategies
    • updates and enhancements to existing pollutant reduction estimator tools

In progress accelerated implementation projects

  • developing a model ordinance package
    • For MCM 4 (Construction stormwater runoff control) and MCM 5 (Post-construction stormwater management)
  • creating pond assessment guidance
    • provides methodology for determining treatment effectiveness
  • developing green infrastructure framework in the Stormwater manual
    • includes strategies for implementing green infrastructure at local level
  • developing a model pet waste ordinance
  • continuing to develop case studies - There are Case studies that have already been created and the MPCA is working to develop more case studies on a variety of stormwater topics. These allow regulated MS4s to learn about successes and failures experienced by other MS4s in managing stormwater projects.

Future accelerated implementation projects

  • research
  • MS4 workshops
  • continue to create materials