Stormwater Education for the Urban Fringe

The Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) program is in the process of issuing the small MS4 general permit to new permittees who have been designated based on the results of the 2010 Census. These permittees were notified on February 25, 2015 that they will need to apply for the Permit within 18 months. We need to provide outreach on stormwater management and environmental impacts to ensure that they achieve a basic understanding of why the MS4 Permit exists, and why their municipality is in the program. At the same time that new permittees will join the program, MPCA wants to increase awareness of stormwater management practices in other cities, townships, and counties that may be on the urban fringe, because these are the areas that are undergoing population growth and development projects. In order to protect water quality in areas unregulated by the MS4 Permit, we believe that we should make an attempt to reach out to these municipalities and provide information about stormwater best management practices and basic hydrology.