The EPA Gets Serious About Compliance
When Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
went into effect in 2003, the municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) it
covered were supposed to have five years—the first full permit term—to develop
and implement a stormwater plan. The general wisdom has been that the EPA would
mainly provide guidance during that first term as the fledgling programs got
going and then would shift its focus to enforcement.
For most of the MS4s who met the March 2003 deadline for permit coverage,
that term is coming to an end. And, right on schedule, the EPA recently issued a
compliance monitoring strategy for the NPDES program, both Phases I and II, with
an emphasis on wet-weather discharges. Among other things, the strategy sets
goals for Phase I and Phase II MS4 audits and inspections the EPA and the states
should conduct: how many, how often, and for what reasons.
What does this mean for your Phase II program?
About 5,000 Phase II MS4s exist, so it will be necessary to prioritize them.
The strategy allows EPA regions and states some leeway in determining how to do
this, but it calls for “an appropriate combination of audits and inspections”
within the next seven years to determine whether each program is in compliance.
MS4s in priority watersheds—those contributing to a state’s 303(d) list of
impaired waters, for example—will move higher up on the list. In addition, once
an inspection or audit takes place, its outcome—good or bad—helps determine the
frequency of future audits; MS4s with violations requiring an enforcement order
will receive a follow-up within the year, and those with no violations, or only
minor ones, will get a follow-up within five years. Other potential signs of
trouble, such as citizen complaints, can also trigger an audit or inspection.
Phase I MS4s have slightly different criteria; there are about 1,000 Phase I
MS4s nationally, covered under just 280 permits since many are co-permittees,
but, being larger, they have the potential to do more harm if they’re not in
compliance. Each one should be audited within the next five years, and, again,
the outcome will determine the date of the next audit—one year for serious
problems, or within five years for minor or no problems. Inspections will be
conducted “as needed.”
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It’s useful to know what constitutes an audit as opposed to an inspection.
According to the EPA’s definitions, an audit evaluates all aspects of a
stormwater program and looks for problems the local government has in
implementing it. It covers structural and source control measures, detection and
removal of illicit discharges, monitoring and control of pollutants in runoff,
use and maintenance of structural and nonstructural BMPs, and various oversight
measures. An inspection involves a subset of the MS4’s permit elements—either an
in-depth review of a single aspect of the program or a review of a few specific
elements of it—or a single site within the MS4.
This new compliance monitoring strategy isn’t just for MS4s; it also deals
with “core” activities regulated under NPDES, such as discharges from publicly
owned treatment plants and industrial facilities, as well as with combined sewer
systems, sanitary sewer systems, animal feeding operations, and construction
sites. You can find the memo that outlines the strategy for all of these online
at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/monitoring/cwa/npdescms.pdf.
Author's Bio: Janice Kaspersen is the editor of Stormwater magazine.
January-February 2008
The EPA Gets Serious About Compliance
When Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
went into effect in 2003, the municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) it
covered were supposed to have five years—the first full permit term—to develop
and implement a stormwater plan. The general wisdom has been that the EPA would
mainly provide guidance during that first term as the fledgling programs got
going and then would shift its focus to enforcement.
For most of the MS4s who met the March 2003 deadline for permit coverage,
that term is coming to an end. And, right on schedule, the EPA recently issued a
compliance monitoring strategy for the NPDES program, both Phases I and II, with
an emphasis on wet-weather discharges. Among other things, the strategy sets
goals for Phase I and Phase II MS4 audits and inspections the EPA and the states
should conduct: how many, how often, and for what reasons.
What does this mean for your Phase II program?
About 5,000 Phase II MS4s exist, so it will be necessary to prioritize them.
The strategy allows EPA regions and states some leeway in determining how to do
this, but it calls for “an appropriate combination of audits and inspections”
within the next seven years to determine whether each program is in compliance.
MS4s in priority watersheds—those contributing to a state’s 303(d) list of
impaired waters, for example—will move higher up on the list. In addition, once
an inspection or audit takes place, its outcome—good or bad—helps determine the
frequency of future audits; MS4s with violations requiring an enforcement order
will receive a follow-up within the year, and those with no violations, or only
minor ones, will get a follow-up within five years. Other potential signs of
trouble, such as citizen complaints, can also trigger an audit or inspection.
Phase I MS4s have slightly different criteria; there are about 1,000 Phase I
MS4s nationally, covered under just 280 permits since many are co-permittees,
but, being larger, they have the potential to do more harm if they’re not in
compliance. Each one should be audited within the next five years, and, again,
the outcome will determine the date of the next audit—one year for serious
problems, or within five years for minor or no problems. Inspections will be
conducted “as needed.”
It’s useful to know what constitutes an audit as opposed to an inspection.
According to the EPA’s definitions, an audit evaluates all aspects of a
stormwater program and looks for problems the local government has in
implementing it. It covers structural and source control measures, detection and
removal of illicit discharges, monitoring and control of pollutants in runoff,
use and maintenance of structural and nonstructural BMPs, and various oversight
measures. An inspection involves a subset of the MS4’s permit elements—either an
in-depth review of a single aspect of the program or a review of a few specific
elements of it—or a single site within the MS4.
This new compliance monitoring strategy isn’t just for MS4s; it also deals
with “core” activities regulated under NPDES, such as discharges from publicly
owned treatment plants and industrial facilities, as well as with combined sewer
systems, sanitary sewer systems, animal feeding operations, and construction
sites. You can find the memo that outlines the strategy for all of these online
at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/monitoring/cwa/npdescms.pdf.