1 Overview of Regulations for Water Quality Protection in South Carolina n Federal Clean Water Act/ NPDES Storm Water Program n South Carolina Pollution Control Act n South Carolina Storm Water Management and Sediment Reduction Act n South Carolina Coastal Zone Regulations n South Carolina Anti-Degradation Rules

2 NPDES Storm Water Program n National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program n Construction General Permit (CGP) n Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)

3 Construction Site Requirements Who must obtain Construction General Permit (CGP) coverage? n NPDES Coverage: –All land disturbing activities > 1 acre –Any size within 1/2 mile of a receiving water body in the S.C. Coastal Zone.

4 Construction Site Requirements CGP Requirements: n Develop and implement Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). n Select, install, implement and maintain best management practices (BMPs). n SWPPP must be signed and retained on site.

5 New NPDES Phase II Construction General Permit (CGP) n Issued February of 2005; appealed n Appeal settled in late 2005 n Effective date of new Phase II CGP expected in Spring 2006 n Existing or ongoing permitted projects will be grandfathered under old regulations and not have to meet Phase II CGP requirements

6 Phase II NPDES CGP Requirements (Pre-Construction Meeting) n Requires pre-construction meetings onsite (unless justified and approved by DHEC to be offsite) for non-linear projects that disturb 10 acres or more n Linear projects can conduct meeting offsite n Purpose: Explain the whole SWPPP to the co- permittees and contractors

7 Phase II NPDES CGP Requirements (Contractor Certification) n All co-permittees must sign a certification statement that they are responsible for operational control of the SWPPP and have participated in a pre-construction conference n Utilities are not exempt

8 Phase II NPDES CGP Requirements (Inspection Frequency) n Inspections must be conducted: –(A) At least once every 7 calendar days, or –(B) At least once every 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the end of a storm event of 0.5 inches or greater

9 Phase II NPDES CGP Requirements (Inspector Qualifications) n Inspections must be conducted by qualified personnel provided by the operator or cooperatively by multiple operators n Examples of qualified personnel are the preparer of the SWPPP or individuals certified by a DHEC approved course

10 Phase II NPDES CGP Requirements (Monthly Reports) n For projects disturbing 10 acres or more, copies of a monthly report or the inspection forms (if they include specified information) must be submitted n In lieu of submitting monthly reports, the reports may be stored electronically in a manner (i.e. a dedicated website) that DHEC personnel have unlimited access to

11 Federal NPDES Stormwater Program n NPDES Construction General Permit (CGP) Permit (CGP) n NPDES Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Storm Sewer System (MS4)

12 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Permit Status n MS4 Ph. II Permit was issued in October of 2003 and was subsequently appealed. n The appeal was settled on December 28, n The new effective date for the MS4 permit is March 1, 2006.

13 MS4 NPDES Phase II Program n Applies to all counties and municipalities that operate a storm water sewer system within an “urbanized area” n An “urbanized area” is one in which the combined population of a county and an adjoining or neighboring city is over 50,000 n “Urbanized areas” can extend over county lines

14 Phase II MS4s in S.C. Coastal Zone Berkeley Co. Goose Creek N. Charleston ConwaySurfsideBeach CharlestonHanahanSullivan’sIsland Georgetown Co. Charleston Co. Isle of Palms Summerville Horry Co. Dorchester Co. LincolnvilleAtlanticBeachMyrtleBeach Folly Beach Mt. Pleasant BriarcliffeAcres N. Myrtle Beach

15 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Application Requirements n Storm sewer system map showing all outfalls. n BMPs selected for each of the 6 “Minimum Elements” of the MS4 Program. n Measurable goals for each Minimum Element. n The person(s) responsible for implementation. n An estimate of the area, in square miles, served by the MS4.

16 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Six Minimum Elements n Public Education and Outreach n Public Involvement/Participation n Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control n Post-Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control n Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination n Pollution Prevention/Good House Keeping at MS4 Owned Facilities/Operations

17 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Public Education and Outreach n Must implement public education by distributing education materials or outreach activities about the impacts and ways to reduce pollution from stormwater runoff. n Stormwater Education Clearinghouse Web Site,

18 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Public Involvement/Participation n Must comply with State and local public notice requirements when implementing a public involvement/participation program. n Describe how the MS4 involved the public in the development and submittal of the stormwater management program.

19 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control n Must develop, implement, and enforce a program to reduce pollutants in any stormwater runoff to the MS4 from construction activities that result in a land disturbance of greater than one (1) acre. n Must implement a local construction site stormwater control program in the entire MS4 area on or before Sept. 1, 2007.

20 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Post-Construction Stormwater Management n Must develop, implement and enforce a program to address stormwater runoff from new development and redevelopment projects that disturb greater than one (1) acre that discharge into the MS4. n Must implement the local post-construction stormwater management program in the entire MS4 area on or before Sept. 1, 2007.

21 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination n Develop, implement and enforce a program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges. n Develop a storm sewer system map, showing the location of all outfalls and the names and location of all waters of the State that receive discharges from those outfalls.

22 MS4 NPDES Ph. II Pollution/Good Housekeeping MS4 NPDES Ph. II Pollution/Good Housekeeping n Develop and implement an operation and maintenance program that includes a training component and has the ultimate goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from county/municipal operations.

23 Questions?