For supporting materials to assist with this measure please see the Educational section of this website.

Requirements:
To satisfy this minimum control measure, the operator of a regulated small MS4 needs to:

What Are Some Guidelines for Developing and Implementing This Measure?
Three main action areas are important for successful implementation of a public education and outreach program:

1. Forming Partnerships
Operators of regulated small MS4s are encouraged to enter into partnerships with other governmental entities to fulfill this minimum control measure's requirements. It is generally more cost-effective to use an existing program, or to develop a new regional or state-wide education program, than to have numerous operators developing their own local programs. Operators also are encouraged to seek assistance from nongovernmental organizations (e.g., environmental, civic, and industrial organizations), since many already have educational materials and perform outreach activities.

2. Using Educational Materials and Strategies
Operators of regulated small MS4s may use storm water educational information provided by the U.S. EPA or the NYS DEC instead of developing their own materials. Operators should strive to make their materials and activities relevant to local situations and issues, and incorporate a variety of strategies to ensure maximum coverage. Some examples include:

3. Reaching Diverse Audiences
The public education program should use a mix of appropriate local strategies to address the viewpoints and concerns of a variety of audiences and communities, including minority and disadvantaged communities, as well as children. Printing posters and brochures in more than one language or posting large warning signs (e.g., cautioning against fishing or swimming) near storm sewer outfalls are methods that can be used to reach audiences less likely to read standard materials. Directing materials or outreach programs toward specific groups of commercial, industrial, and institutional entities likely to have significant storm water impacts is also recommended. For example, information could be provided to restaurants on the effects of grease clogging storm drains and to auto garages on the effects of dumping used oil into storm drains.

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are intended to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, should reflect the needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by its small MS4. Furthermore, they should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following measurable goals:

Requirements:
To satisfy this minimum control measure, the operator of a regulated small MS4 must:

What Are Some Guidelines for Developing and Implementing This Measure?
Operators of regulated small MS4s should include the public in developing, implementing, and reviewing their storm water management programs. The public participation process should make every effort to reach out and engage all economic and ethnic groups. EPA recognizes that there are challenges associated with public involvement. Nevertheless, EPA strongly believes that these challenges can be addressed through an aggressive and inclusive program. Challenges and example practices that can help ensure successful participation are discussed below.

Implementation Challenges
The best way to handle common notification and recruitment challenges is to know the audience and think creatively about how to gain its attention and interest. Traditional methods of soliciting public input are not always successful in generating interest, and subsequent involvement, in all sectors of the community. For example, municipalities often rely solely on advertising in local newspapers to announce public meetings and other opportunities for public involvement. Since there may be large sectors of the population who do not read the local press, the audience reached may be limited. Therefore, alternative advertising methods should be used whenever possible, including radio or television spots, postings at bus or subway stops, announcements in neighborhood newsletters, announcements at civic organization meetings, distribution of flyers, mass mailings, door-to-door visits, telephone notifications, and multilingual announcements. These efforts, of course, are tied closely to the efforts for the public education and outreach minimum control measure (see Fact Sheet 2.3).

In addition, advertising and soliciting for help should be targeted at specific population sectors, including ethnic, minority, and low-income communities; academia and educational institutions; neighborhood and community groups; outdoor recreation groups; and business and industry. The goal is to involve a diverse cross-section of people who can offer a multitude of concerns, ideas, and connections during the program development process.

Possible Practices (BMPs)
There are a variety of practices that could be incorporated into a public participation and involvement program, such as:

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are intended to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, greatly depend on the needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by the small MS4. Furthermore, they should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following measurable goals:

Requirements:
Recognizing the adverse effects illicit discharges can have on receiving waters, the final rule requires an operator of a regulated small MS4 to develop, implement and enforce an illicit discharge detection and elimination program. This program must include the following:

Does This Measure Need to Address All Illicit Discharges?
No. The illicit discharge detection and elimination program does not need to address the following categories of non-storm water discharges or flows unless the operator of the regulated small MS4 identifies them as significant contributors of pollutants to its MS4:

What Are Some Guidelines for Developing and Implementing This Measure?
The objective of the illicit discharge detection and elimination minimum control measure is to have regulated small MS4 operators gain a thorough awareness of their systems. This awareness allows them to determine the types and sources of illicit discharges entering their system; and establish the legal, technical, and educational means needed to eliminate these discharges. Permittees could meet these objectives in a variety of ways depending on their individual needs and abilities, but some general guidance for each requirement is provided below.

The Map
The storm sewer system map is meant to demonstrate a basic awareness of the intake and discharge areas of the system. It is needed to help determine the extent of discharged dry weather flows, the possible sources of the dry weather flows, and the particular waterbodies these flows may be affecting. An existing map, such as a topographical map, on which the location of major pipes and outfalls can be clearly presented demonstrates such awareness. EPA recommends collecting all existing information on outfall locations (e.g., review city records, drainage maps, storm drain maps), and then conducting field surveys to verify locations. It probably will be necessary to walk (i.e., wade through small receiving waters or use a boat for larger waters) the streambanks and shorelines for visual observation. More than one trip may be needed to locate all outfalls.

Legal Prohibition and Enforcement
EPA recognizes that some permittees may have limited authority under State or local law to establish and enforce an ordinance or other regulatory mechanism prohibiting illicit discharges. In such a case, the permittee is encouraged to obtain the necessary authority, if possible.

The Plan
The plan to detect and address illicit discharges is the central component of this minimum control measure. The plan is dependant upon several factors, including the permittee's available resources, size of staff, and degree and character of its illicit discharges. As guidance only, the four steps of a recommended plan are outlined below:

Educational Outreach
Outreach to public employees, businesses, property owners, the general community, and elected officials regarding ways to detect and eliminate illicit discharges is an integral part of this minimum measure that will help gain support for the permittee's storm water program. Suggested educational outreach efforts include:

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are intended to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, should reflect the needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by its small MS4. Furthermore, they should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following measurable goals:

The educational outreach measurable goals for this minimum control measure could be combined with the measurable goals for the Public Education and Outreach minimum control measure (see Fact Sheet 2.3).

For supporting materials to assist with this measure please see the

• New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, and the
• New York State Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control.

Requirements:
The Phase II Final Rule requires an operator of a regulated small MS4 to develop, implement, and enforce a program to reduce pollutants in storm water runoff to their MS4 from construction activities that result in a land disturbance of greater than or equal to one acre. The small MS4 operator is required to:

What Are Some Guidelines for Developing and Implementing This Measure?
Further explanation and guidance for each component of a regulated small MS4's construction program is provided below.

Regulatory Mechanism
Through the development of an ordinance or other regulatory mechanism, the small MS4 operator must establish a construction program that controls polluted runoff from construction sites with a land disturbance of greater than or equal to one acre. Because there may be limitations on regulatory legal authority, the small MS4 operator is required to satisfy this minimum control measure only to the maximum extent practicable and allowable under State, Tribal, or local law.

Site Plan Review
The small MS4 operator must include in its construction program requirements for the implementation of appropriate BMPs on construction sites to control erosion and sediment and other waste at the site. To determine if a construction site is in compliance with such provisions, the small MS4 operator should review the site plans submitted by the construction site operator before ground is broken.

Site plan review aids in compliance and enforcement efforts since it alerts the small MS4 operator early in the process to the planned use or non-use of proper BMPs and provides a way to track new construction activities. The tracking of sites is useful not only for the small MS4 operator's recordkeeping and reporting purposes, which are required under their NPDES storm water permit (see Fact Sheet 2.9), but also for members of the public interested in ensuring that the sites are in compliance.

Inspections and Penalties
Once construction commences, BMPs should be in place and the small MS4 operator's enforcement activities should begin. To ensure that the BMPs are properly installed, the small MS4 operator is required to develop procedures for site inspection and enforcement of control measures to deter infractions. Procedures could include steps to identify priority sites for inspection and enforcement based on the nature and extent of the construction activity, topography, and the characteristics of soils and receiving water quality. Inspections give the MS4 operator an opportunity to provide additional guidance and education, issue warnings, or assess penalties. To conserve staff resources, one possible option for small MS4 operators is to have these inspections performed by the same inspector that visits the sites to check compliance with health and safety building codes.

Information Submitted by the Public
A final requirement of the small MS4 program for construction activity is the development of procedures for the receipt and consideration of public inquiries, concerns, and information submitted regarding local construction activities. This provision is intended to further reinforce the public participation component of the regulated small MS4 storm water program (see Fact Sheet 2.4) and to recognize the crucial role that the public can play in identifying instances of noncompliance.

The small MS4 operator is required only to consider the information submitted, and may not need to follow-up and respond to every complaint or concern. Although some form of enforcement action or reply is not required, the small MS4 operator is required to demonstrate acknowledgment and consideration of the information submitted. A simple tracking process in which submitted public information, both written and verbal, is recorded and then given to the construction site inspector for possible follow-up will suffice.

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are intended to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, should reflect the needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by its small MS4. Furthermore, they should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following measurable goals:

Are Construction Sites Already Covered Under the NPDES Storm Water Program?

Yes. EPA's Phase I NPDES storm water program requires operators of construction activities that disturb five or more acres to obtain a NPDES construction storm water permit. General permit requirements include the submission of a Notice of Intent and the development of a storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). The SWPPP must include a site description and measures and controls to prevent or minimize pollutants in storm water discharges. The Phase II Final Rule similarly regulates discharges from smaller construction sites disturbing equal to or greater than one acre and less than five acres (see Fact Sheet 3.0 for information on the Phase II construction program).

Even though all construction sites that disturb more than one acre are covered nationally by an NPDES storm water permit, the construction site runoff control minimum measure for the small MS4 program is needed to induce more localized site regulation and enforcement efforts, and to enable operators of regulated small MS4s to more effectively control construction site discharges into their MS4s.

To aid operators of regulated construction sites in their efforts to comply with both local requirements and their NPDES permit, the Phase II Final Rule includes a provision that allows the NPDES permitting authority to reference a "qualifying State, Tribal or local program" in the NPDES general permit for construction. This means that if a construction site is located in an area covered by a qualifying local program, then the construction site operator's compliance with the local program constitutes compliance with their NPDES permit. A regulated small MS4's storm water program for construction could be a "qualifying program" if the MS4 operator requires a SWPPP, in addition to the requirements summarized in this fact sheet.

The ability to reference other programs in the NPDES permit is intended to reduce confusion between overlapping and similar requirements, while still providing for both local and national regulatory coverage of the construction site. The provision allowing NPDES permitting authorities to reference other programs has no impact on, or direct relation to, the small MS4 operator's responsibilities under the construction site runoff control minimum measure profiled here.

Is a Small MS4 Required to Regulate Construction Sites that the Permitting Authority has Waived from the NPDES Construction Program?

No. If the NPDES permitting authority waives requirements for storm water discharges associated with small construction activity, the small MS4 operator is not required to develop, implement, and/or enforce a program to reduce pollutant discharges from such construction sites.

Requirements:
The Phase II Final Rule requires an operator of a regulated small MS4 to develop, implement, and enforce a program to reduce pollutants in post-construction runoff to their MS4 from new development and redevelopment projects that result in the land disturbance of greater than or equal to 1 acre. The small MS4 operator is required to:

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are intended to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, should reflect needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by its small MS4. Furthermore, the measurable goals should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following goals:

Requirements:
Recognizing the benefits of pollution prevention practices, the rule requires an operator of a regulated small MS4 to:

The effective performance of this control measure hinges on the proper maintenance of the BMPs used, particularly for the first two bullets above. For example, structural controls, such as grates on outfalls to capture floatables, typically need regular cleaning, while non-structural controls, such as training materials and recycling programs, need periodic updating.

What Are Appropriate Measurable Goals?
Measurable goals, which are required for each minimum control measure, are meant to gauge permit compliance and program effectiveness. The measurable goals, as well as the BMPs, should consider the needs and characteristics of the operator and the area served by its small MS4. The measurable goals should be chosen using an integrated approach that fully addresses the requirements and intent of the minimum control measure. An integrated approach for this minimum measure could include the following measurable goals: