South Carolina Code of Regulations › Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL › Subchapter 61-9 - Water Pollution Control Permits › Subchapter 61-9.122 - THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM › Part B - PERMIT APPLICATION AND SPECIAL NPDES PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS › Section 61-9.122.B.34 - As an operator of a regulated, small MS4, what will my NPDES MS4 storm water permit require?

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 6, June 28, 2024
(a) Your
				  NPDES MS4 permit will require at a minimum that you develop, implement, and
				  enforce a storm water management program designed to reduce the discharge of
				  pollutants from your MS4 to the maximum extent practicable (MEP), to protect
				  water quality, and to satisfy the appropriate water quality requirements of the
				  Clean Water Act. Your storm water management program must include the minimum
				  control measures described in paragraph (b) of this section unless you apply
				  for a permit under section 122.26(d)(d). For purposes of this section,
				  narrative effluent limitations requiring implementation of best management
				  practices (BMP) are generally the most appropriate form of effluent limitations
				  when designed to satisfy technology requirements (including reductions of
				  pollutants to the maximum extent practicable) and to protect water quality.
				  Implementation of best management practices consistent with the provisions of
				  the storm water management program required pursuant to this section and the
				  provisions of the permit required pursuant to section 122.33 constitutes
				  compliance with the standard of reducing pollutants to the "maximum extent
				  practicable." The Department will specify a period of up to 5 years from the
				  date of permit issuance for you to develop and implement your
				  program.
(b) Minimum control
				  measures:
(1) Public education and outreach
				  on storm water impacts. You must implement a public education program to
				  distribute educational materials to the community or conduct equivalent
				  outreach activities about the impacts of storm water discharges on water bodies
				  and the steps that the public can take to reduce pollutants in storm water
				  runoff.
(2) Public
				  involvement/participation. You must, at a minimum, comply with State and local
				  public notice requirements when implementing a public involvement/participation
				  program.
(3) Illicit discharge
				  detection and elimination.
(i) You must
				  develop, implement and enforce a program to detect and eliminate illicit
				  discharges [as defined at section 122.26(b)(2)(b)(2)] into your small
				  MS4.
(ii) You must:
(A) Develop, if not already completed, a
				  storm sewer system map, showing the location of all outfalls and the names and
				  locations of all waters of the United States that receive discharges from those
				  outfalls;
(B) To the extent
				  allowable under State or local law, effectively prohibit, through ordinance, or
				  other regulatory mechanism, non-storm water discharges into your storm sewer
				  system and implement appropriate enforcement procedures and actions;
(C) Develop and implement a plan to detect
				  and address non-storm-water discharges, including illegal dumping, to your
				  system; and
(D) Inform public
				  employees, businesses, and the general public of hazards associated with
				  illegal discharges and improper disposal of waste.
(iii) You need address the following
				  categories of non-storm water discharges or flows (i.e., illicit discharges)
				  only if you identify them as significant contributors of pollutants to your
				  small MS4: water line flushing, landscape irrigation, diverted stream flows,
				  rising ground waters, uncontaminated ground water infiltration [as defined at
				  40
				  CFR 35.2005(20) ],
				  uncontaminated, pumped ground water, discharges from potable water sources,
				  foundation drains, air conditioning condensate, irrigation water, springs,
				  water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn watering, individual
				  residential car washing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands,
				  dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and street wash water (discharges or
				  flows from fire fighting activities are excluded from the effective prohibition
				  against non-storm water and need only be addressed where they are identified as
				  significant sources of pollutants to waters of the United States).
(4) Construction site storm water
				  runoff control.
(i) You must develop,
				  implement, and enforce a program to reduce pollutants in any storm water runoff
				  to your small MS4 from construction activities that result in a land
				  disturbance of greater than or equal to one acre. Reduction of storm water
				  discharges from construction activity disturbing less than one acre must be
				  included in your program if that construction activity is part of a larger
				  common plan of development or sale that would disturb one acre or more. If the
				  Department waives requirements for storm water discharges associated with small
				  construction activity in accordance with section 122.26(b)(15)(i)(b)(15)(i),
				  you are not required to develop, implement, and/or enforce a program to reduce
				  pollutant discharges from such sites.
(ii) Your program must include the
				  development and implementation of, at a minimum:
(A) An ordinance or other regulatory
				  mechanism to require erosion and sediment controls, as well as sanctions to
				  ensure compliance, to the extent allowable under State or local law;
(B) Requirements for construction site
				  operators to implement appropriate erosion and sediment control best management
				  practices;
(C) Requirements for
				  construction site operators to control waste such as discarded building
				  materials, concrete-truck washout, chemicals, litter, and sanitary waste at the
				  construction site that may cause adverse impacts to water quality;
(D) Procedures for site plan review which
				  incorporate consideration of potential water quality impacts;
(E) Procedures for receipt and consideration
				  of information submitted by the public; and
(F) Procedures for site inspection and
				  enforcement of control measures.
(5) Post-construction storm water management
				  in new development and redevelopment.
(i) You
				  must develop, implement, and enforce a program to address storm water runoff
				  from new development and redevelopment projects that disturb greater than or
				  equal to one acre, including projects less than one acre that are part of a
				  larger common plan of development or sale, that discharge into your small MS4.
				  Your program must ensure that controls are in place that would prevent or
				  minimize water quality impacts.
(ii) You must:
(A) Develop and implement strategies which
				  include a combination of structural and/or non-structural best management
				  practices (BMP) appropriate for your community;
(B) Use an ordinance or other regulatory
				  mechanism to address post-construction runoff from new development and
				  redevelopment projects to the extent allowable under State, Tribal, or local
				  law; and
(C) Ensure adequate
				  long-term operation and maintenance of BMP.
(6) Pollution prevention/good housekeeping
				  for municipal operations. You must 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 municipal operations.
				  Using training materials that are available from EPA, your State, Tribe, or
				  other organizations, your program must include employee training to prevent and
				  reduce storm water pollution from activities such as park and open space
				  maintenance, fleet and building maintenance, new construction and land
				  disturbances, and storm water system maintenance.