Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 500 - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT › Section 096-500-8 - Municipal or quasi-municipal stormwater management programs

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
The Department may allow a municipality or a quasi-municipal
				  organization, such as a watershed management district, to substitute a
				  management system for stormwater for the stormwater permit requirement pursuant
				  to
				  38 M.R.S.
				  §420-D(2). The
				  management system may apply to an entire watershed, or a portion of a watershed
				  and may include multiple watersheds within the jurisdiction of the municipality
				  or quasi-municipal organization. A project located within the area served by a
				  management system approved by the Department is exempt from the stormwater
				  permit requirements contained in this Chapter. For Site Law redevelopment
				  projects only, and for the purposes of meeting the stormwater standard of
				   38 M.R.S.
				  §484(4-A), the
				  standards for stormwater management in Section 420-D are met if the proposed
				  development is located in a designated area served by a Department-approved
				  management system for stormwater as described in Section 420-D(2), as long as
				  the owner or operator of the parcel upon which the proposed development will be
				  located enters into or obtains and remains in compliance with all agreements,
				  permits and approvals necessary for the proposed development to be served by
				  such management system for stormwater.
The municipality or quasi-municipality may elect to have the
				  substitution take effect at the time the system is approved by the Department,
				  or at the time the system is completed as provided in the implementation
				  schedule provided by the Department.
A stormwater management system may not substitute for an
				  aspect of a project that is required to meet the infiltration standards
				  described in Appendix D of this Chapter or required to obtain a waste discharge
				  permit.
A.
Stormwater management
				systemapproval criteria.
The Department may review and approve a
				stormwater management system submitted by a municipality or a quasi-municipal
				organization, such as a watershed management district, to meet this exemption,
				provided that the municipality or quasi-municipal organization demonstrates
				that the following criteria are met.
(1)
Relationship to water quality
. The municipality or quasi-municipal
				organization shall have a stormwater treatment system that, upon
				implementation, will result in the collective treatment of stormwater from new
				and existing sources within the watershed and will result in water quality in
				the receiving water that is as good, or better, than would be achieved with
				stormwater permits issued by the Department for individual projects. The
				stormwater system may apply to an entire watershed, or a portion of a watershed
				and may include multiple watersheds within the jurisdiction of the municipality
				or quasi-municipal organization.
(2)
Funding and implementation
.
				The stormwater management system must include funding provisions and an
				implementation schedule that provides that the treatment system for new and
				existing sources will be in place and functioning within five years unless a
				longer time period, not to exceed 10 years, is approved by the
				Department.
(3)
Annual
				reporting
. The stormwater management system must also include a
				provision for annual reporting by the municipality or quasi-municipal
				organization to the Department on progress toward implementation and a listing
				of the new developed area within the jurisdiction of the stormwater management
				system.