With the regulatory landscape for stormwater changing rapidly in the early 2000s, there was a need for MPCA to provide updated regulatory information and additional design and management guidance for local governmental units (LGUs) and stormwater practitioners. An excerpt from the preface of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, v1.0 (2005), sums it up best:
...Although stormwater management to control the pollution of receiving waters has been around in earnest for over 30 years in Minnesota, the advent of many new programs means that guidance is needed more than ever. Such programs as the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Phase I and II program, the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) program, and strong runoff control programs at the local and watershed levels have all contributed to the need for this information to be compiled in a comprehensive, technically sound document.
The production of the manual was overseen by a subcommittee within the Minnesota Stormwater Steering Committee (SCS). The vision of the stormwater manual subcommittee included the following goals for the Manual:
- Develop a single resource to guide stormwater managers through the maze of regulations, BMP selection and design, models/techniques, and terminology that constitute good stormwater management.
- Do not duplicate other, accepted sources of information already available. The Manual will often forego detailed explanation of a particular element and send the user directly to another resource via electronic linkage or cited reference.
- Include linked resources that Minnesota stormwater managers could use in conjunction with the Manual
- Provide flexibility to facilitate revisions and updates in response to changing regulatory directives and the needs of the Minnesota stormwater community.
The 'bones' of these goals are still evident in the Manual today. If you are familiar with the electronic version of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, you'll find much familiar content in the original version!
Download a copy of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, Version 2.0, 2008.