Draft Small MS4 General Permits For New Hampshire and Massachusetts

EPA has issued three separate draft Small MS4 General Permits for the operators located in the state of New Hampshire and various watersheds in Massachusetts. The most recent schedules for each of the 2012 Permits for Storm Water Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) in New Hampshire and Massachusetts are:

• State of New Hampshire: EPA has revised its 2008 Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 Permit and will issue it as a new draft permit for public comment in the spring of 2012. Issuance of a final permit anticipated for spring 2012 will therefore be delayed until late 2012 or early 2013 to allow for the public to comment on the draft permit and for EPA to respond to those comments. A Notice of Availability for the new draft New Hampshire Small MS4 general permit will be published in the Federal Register as well as information about any scheduled public meetings or hearings.
• North Coastal Watershed: The 2010 Draft Massachusetts North Coastal Small MS4 General Permit is available on EPA's "Draft Massachusetts North Coastal Small MS4 General Permit" webpage. The Draft Massachusetts North Coastal Small MS4 General Permit was published in the Federal Register and was available for public comment on February 4, 2010. EPA held a public hearing for the draft permit on March 18, 2010 and the public comment period ended March 31, 2010. EPA anticipates a Final Massachusetts North Coastal Small MS4 General Permit in the summer of 2012.
• Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal Watersheds (IMS): The 2010 Draft Massachusetts Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal Watersheds Small MS4 General Permit is available on EPA's "Draft Massachusetts Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal Small MS4 General Permit" webpage and is accessible through EPA 1's NPDES Storm Water Permit Program webpage. The Draft Massachusetts Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal Watersheds Small MS4 General Permit was published in the Federal Register and was available for public comment on February 15, 2011. EPA held a public meeting for the draft permit on March 9, 2011 and the public comment period ended March 11, 2011. EPA anticipates a Final IMS Small MS4 General Permit in the fall of 2012.
• Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT): EPA anticipates issuing a separate individual small MS4 Permit for MassDOT with a draft available in the summer of 2012.

The effective date of each final general permit will be no sooner than the date the final permit is signed and made publicly available. To obtain coverage, operators will be required to submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI) for the permit for which they are eligible. EPA anticipates that NOIs will be due 90 days after the effective date of each final permit.

The new draft Small MS4 General Permits released to date include the same six minimum control measures as the 2003 MS4 General Permit in addition to provisions to protect water quality standards. To improve the effectiveness of stormwater management programs and reduce the adverse effects of stormwater runoff on receiving waters, these draft permits include:

1. enhanced illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) requirements to identify, isolate and remove sanitary and other wastes from the stormwater system;
2. water quality monitoring of stormwater discharges;
3. encouragement of low impact development and green infrastructure techniques; and
4. requirements designed to implement approved total maximum daily load (TMDL) waste load allocations (WLAs).

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Stormwater Permitting & Regulatory Support, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP), Stormwater Monitoring and Stormwater Training.
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