Slide 1 EPA Stormwater & Water Regulations: Local Impacts & Balancing Power 2011 Congressional City Conference

Who am I?  Randy Neprash, P.E. Slide # 2

Basic Concepts #1  Stormwater pollution and water quality are legitimate and important issues for cities Slide #3

Basic Concepts #2  Writing good regulations is very, very hard to do  Regulations are always clumsy  We are still learning about stormwater and water quality  Very few regulators understand how cities function  This means they need our assistance  Regs should be meaningful & manageable Slide #4

Delegated Permit Authority Slide #5

Local Impacts – types of regs  TMDLs  Total Maximum Daily Load  NPDES permits  Wastewater  Construction sites  Industrial facilities  MS4  Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems Slide #6

TMDLs  Waste Load Allocations are linked to NPDES permits – legal liabilities for MS4 cities  Achievability is not the highest priority  It’s the receiving water and “science” that count  The TMDL must result in meeting the WQ standard  Some WLAs have very large load reductions Slide #7

TMDLs  Reasonable Assurance for MS4s is very weak  Typical “boilerplate” language in Minnesota  “Under the MS4 program, each permitted community must develop a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program, or SWPPP, that lays out the ways in which the community will actively and effectively manage its stormwater. SWPPPs are required to incorporate the results of any approved TMDLs within their area of jurisdiction, subject to review by the MPCA.” Slide #8

TMDLs  Inexorable logic  WLA reductions are enforced through permits  LA reductions are voluntary  Incentive money will go to LA sources  Permits will get more stringent for MS4 cities Slide #9

MS4 Permitting Program  NPDES permits for urban stormwater runoff  EPA rules – 1990, 1999, now  761 Phase I MS4s  5,862 Phase II MS4s – 5,182 MS4 cities Slide #10

MS4 Permitting Program  Six Minimum Control Measures  Public Education & Outreach  Public Participation  Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination  Construction Site Runoff Control  Post-Construction Stormwater Management  Pollution Prevention/Municipal Good Housekeeping Slide #11

MS4 Permitting Program Slide #12  140 employees  11 departments  9 external partners

MS4 Permitting Program Slide #13

MS4 Permitting Program Slide #14

MS4 Permitting Program Slide #15

MS4 Permitting Program  MCMs #1 & 2 - $101,385  MCM #3 - $131,500  MCM #4 - $174,840  MCM #5 - $236,118  MCM #6 - $839,200  Admin & Asset Depreciation - $1,697,600  Total - $3,180,643  Does not include cost to city construction projects Slide #16

City Participation in the Regulatory Process  Driven by local impacts  Meaningful participation  Develop our own guidance materials  Genuine partner with state agency – MPCA  Be involved in water quality & stormwater stakeholder groups  Influence policy, legislation, and regulations  Communicate among cities – share materials Slide #17

Challenges  Multiple aspects of “meaningful participation”  Policy  Politics  Technical – water resources engineering  Implementation experience  Beyond the capacity of any individual cities  Very difficult if many individuals are doing separate activities Slide #18

Challenges  Genuine partnership with state agency  Know the staff  Know internal protocols  Know the agency’s intent  Know the legal aspects – Federal and state  Know the politics – at the Legislature  Make use of administrative functions  Formal comments, contested case hearing petitions  Balance of power Slide #19

We formed the MCSC  Minnesota Cities Stormwater Coalition  Membership of 87 cities  of 162 MS4 cities  Affiliated with the League of Minnesota Cities  Fiscal administration  Political & policy alliance  Technical consultant – 80 hours per month Slide #20

MCSC  Minnesota Cities Stormwater Coalition  11-member Steering Committee  Meets monthly  Annual budget = $85,000  Annual membership fee  Annual membership meeting Slide #21

MCSC – Annual Fee Schedule Slide #22 Population RangeAnnual Fee 0 - 3,000$375 3,001 – 6,000$470 6,001 – 10,000$565 10,001 – 20,000$690 20,001 – 30,000$875 30,001 – 50,000$1,125 50,001 – 100,000$1,625 Saint Paul$4,500 Minneapolis$5,500

MCSC’s Actions  Guide Plan Project  For Phase II cities – in 2002  Created our own program guidance  Consistent format for submittals  Contested case hearing petition – 2006  Negotiated significant permit revisions  Solution for nondegradation court ruling  We generated the strategy to resolve the problem Slide #23

MCSC’s Actions - Current  Minimal Impact Design Standards  Credit system for the broad range of Best Management Practices  Draft MS4 Permit  Technical seminars for member cities  PAH stormwater pond sediment contamination  TMDL guidance for member cities  Communication & sharing materials  Address challenges with volume control Slide #24

Summary  Water quality & stormwater pollution are important issues that have to be addressed by cities  The impacts of WQ & SW regs is significant and will increase  A coalition of regulated cities is useful for:  Coordination  Sharing information & materials  Balancing power with state agencies Slide #25

Federal Rulemaking  Informed by National Research Council report  46 people involved  Committee members  Advice & input  Reviewers  4 from Phase I cities  0 from Phase II cities  Out of 5,182 regulated cities Slide #26

 Randy Neprash   Slide #27