STORMWATER
Jonathan Jobe, Stormwater Program Manager
Email: jjobe@cityofclevelandtn.com
Chris Broom, Stormwater Technician
Email: cbroom@cityofclevelandtn.com
| STORMWATER EVENTS |
Stormwater MS4 Phase II Mandate
The Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 established regulatory authority for the protection of surface waters (lakes, rivers, and streams) for designated uses, such as, drinking water, recreation, and industrial process water. States were required to develop inventories of impaired surface waters or streams, referred to as a “303d list.” The CWA amendments of 1987 provided regulatory authority of non-point source or stormwater pollution under the NPDES, recognizing that urban stormwater runoff was a significant contributor to water pollution. In 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in conjunction with the CWA implemented the MS4 Phase I stormwater mandate, in urban areas with a population of 100,000 or more (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville). In 1999, EPA adopted the MS4 phase II rules, which included all urban areas having of a total population of at least 50,000, and a population density of 1,000 people per square mile as determined by the Bureau of the Census. The CWA amendments provided regulatory permit authority under the NPDES program for EPA to address urban stormwater discharges. A listing of governmental entities that is located either fully or partially within an urban area and subject to the stormwater MS4 Phase II rule is published in the Federal Register (64 FR 687220), and includes the City of Cleveland. There are 84 cities and counties in Tennessee subject to the MS4 Phase II mandate.
Candies Creek, Little Chatata Creek, South Mouse Creek, and Woolen Mill Branch are all affected by the City of Cleveland’s stormwater run-off. Their locations and urban growth increase the potential impacts. Storm water runoff from lands modified by human activities can harm surface water and cause or contribute to exceeding amounts of water quality standards by changing where water naturally flows and how fast it flows, destroying aquatic habitat, and increasing pollutant concentrations and loadings. Common pollutants include oil and grease from roadways and parking lots, pesticides from lawns, sediment from construction sites, and carelessly discarded trash, such as cigarette butts, paper wrappers, and plastic bottles.
Urban development increases the amount of impervious surface in a watershed as farmland, forests, and meadowlands are converted into buildings with rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, roads, and parking lots with virtually no ability to absorb stormwater. Storm water and snowmelt runoff wash over impervious areas, picking up pollutants along the way while gaining speed and volume because of their inability to disperse and filter into the ground.
MS4 Definition (What is regulated?)
An MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) means a conveyance or system of conveyances including roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains (i) owned or operated by a State, city, town, county, or other public body created by or pursuant to State law, (ii) designed or used for collecting or conveying stormwater.
MS4 Phase II Regulated Urban Area
The total urban area in Bradley County subject to the stormwater MS4 Phase II mandate is 58 square miles, and includes two jurisdictions 1) Cleveland, and 2) unincorporated Bradley County. The entire municipal boundary of Cleveland is located in the urban area consisting of 27 square miles of contiguous area, and currently 303d listed streams based on the 2004 303d list include Candies Creek, Little Chatata Creek, South Mouse Creek, and Woolen Mill Branch.
MS4 Phase II Permit
The City of Cleveland prepared the required TDEC notice of intent (March 2003 deadline) to obtain coverage under a general NPDES permit for MS4 discharges, as mandated. In February 2003, TDEC issued a general NPDES permit for 84 municipalities in Tennessee required to operate MS4 Phase II programs.
The NPDES permit governing the stormwater program operations of Cleveland has a definitive beginning date of February 2003 and expiration date of February 2008. The MS4 permit term is five (5) years. Upon expiration of the NPDES permit, TDEC will revise and modify the permit conditions to satisfy CWA requirements. The first permit term for MS4 Phase II municipalities is 2003-2008 (5 years), and is dedicated to phasing in or starting the local stormwater programs. In 2007, Cleveland will be required to submit an application to renew permit coverage.
The NPDES permit for each entity has six program areas, each has approximately six tasks or a total of 36 tasks. In addition to the permit tasks, there are also requirements related to the presence of 303d streams that require mandated inspections of all construction activity on a once per month frequency. The permit tasks are phased in annually through 2007 and become a permanent or reoccurring part of the MS4 Phase II program. The program of each entity must be fully operational by March 7, 2007 pursuant to the Federal Register, 40CFR122.
STORMWATER PROGRAM COMPONENTS-CLEVELAND
Public Education and Outreach
Conduct Erosion and Sediment TDEC/UT Training
Stormwater education in public schools-Project Wet
Brochures/ Publication distributions
Water Quality Civic Presentations
Promote hazardous waste collection day
Annual evaluation
Public Participation and Involvement
Annual report and public hearing
Stormwater hot line
Stream cleanup
Stormwater Regulations Board:
Fred Murphy: Environmental Engineer, term 3-years
Mike Sharp: Attorney, term 2-years
Arnold Moss: Industrial, term 2-years
Jim Tucker: Community in General, term1-year
Kent Berry: Community in General, term1-year
Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Program
Ordinance development and implementation
Inventory storm sewer system for MS4
Operations manual for illicit discharge
Dry weather screening
Construction Site Runoff Control Program
Ordinance development and implementation
Inspection manual development
Stormwater inspection permit and tracking-303d 1/month
Post Construction Management Program
Ordinance development and implementation
Post construction manual development
Regional detention ponds
Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeep for Municipal Operations
Develop employee-training program
Develop SOP’s for municipal operations-Street and drainage maintenance
Trash management plan
Track and record street and drainage conveyance cleaning