Stakeholders Meeting – March 5, 2014
Selvin T. Southwell, P.E.
MS4s in New York City
 NYCDEP Drainage Areas with MS4s
 Staten Island, including Bluebelts (Most of the borough
except North East and North Central)
 Queens (South, East, North East, Rockaways)
 Brooklyn (South)
 Bronx (East)
 Other City Agency Drainage Areas with MS4s
 Industrial facilities and construction sites in direct
drainage areas (along waterfront/ shoreline)
 Municipal operations/facilities in direct drainage areas
MS4s in New York City – Cont’d
 Fifty one percent of New York City’s (NYC) land area
represents separate sewered areas, direct discharge
areas, and unsewered areas
 Of the NYCDEP’s sewered areas, 35 percent have a
separate sewer system
 NYC municipal separate sewer system (MS4) serves a
population of about 2 million and is a large MS4 as per
the Federal Regulations [40 CFR Part 122.26(b)]
Basis for the Permit
 Stormwater requirements for large MS4s in the Federal
Regulations [40 CFR 122.26(d)] formed the basis for the
Permit
 Additionally, the following sources were consulted:
 NYSDEC SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges
from MS4s (GP-0-10-002), May 2010
 EPA Audits of Tallman Island & Oakwood Beach WPCP MS4s
 EPA’s MS4 Improvement Guide [Publication 833-R-10-001],
April 2010
 MS4 Permit programs from large cities such as Philadelphia,
Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, District of Columbia
Intent of the Permit
 The intent of this SPDES permit is to manage urban
sources of stormwater runoff to protect overall water
quality and improve water quality in impaired waters
as part of a comprehensive integrated planning
approach that considers non-MS4 sources and
planned controls for those sources
Stomwater Management Program
Plan (SWMP)
 The City will be required to develop a SWMP within
three years of permit issuance
 public education and participation
 illicit discharge detection and elimination
 construction and post-construction runoff
 industrial user and industrial source control program
 municipal operations and facilities
 floatables control
 stormwater monitoring
Impaired Waters
 The City will be required to develop a program to
ensure no net increase of pollutants of concern (POC)
to impaired waters resulting from non-negligible land
use changes
 non-negligible land use changes - land disturbances
greater than or equal to 1 acre where there is an increase
in impervious cover
Legal Authority
 The City will be required to develop and maintain the
authority to carry out all aspects of their stormwater
management programs
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control of pollutants flowing into the MS4
access to inspect sources of pollutant discharges
procedures to ensure compliance
escalating enforcement mechanism in the event of violations
 Legal authority will be required for:
 construction site runoff control
 post-construction runoff control
 industrial and commercial site inspections
 illicit discharge detection and elimination programs
Implementation of SWMP –
Key Requirements
 Compliance schedule for SWMP development and
implementation
 Tracking system to track the information required in
the Permit
 Reporting requirements after SWMP is developed to
demonstrate that the SWMP is implemented and is
effective
Construction & Post-Construction
Stormwater Quality Controls
 The City must develop, implement, and enforce a program equivalent
to SPDES Construction Stormwater General Permit to reduce
pollutants in construction and post construction runoff to MS4s from
new development and redevelopment projects with land disturbance of
greater than or equal to 1 acre (except direct drainage areas)
 Combination of structural and/or nonstructural best management
practices (BMPs) can be used
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For post-construction stormwater runoff, Green Infrastructure (GI) practices can
be implemented
Green Roofs, Rain Gardens, Stormwater Planters, Rain Tanks/Cisterns, Porous
Pavement, Riparian Buffers/Filter Strips, Vegetated Swale, Tree Planting
Infiltration, Bioretention, Dry Swale
 Develop procedures for SWPPP reviews and acceptance
 Establish and maintain an inventory of post-construction stormwater
BMPs including practices authorized since 2003
 Ensure adequate long-term operation and maintenance of controls
Industrial Stormwater Quality
Controls
 The City must prepare and maintain an inventory of
industrial and commercial sources that could
discharge POCs in stormwater
 The City must maintain full oversight and control of
these facilities including inspections and enforcement
 Develop procedures for site inspection, compliance, and
enforcement of SPDES MSGP facilities (except direct
drainage areas)
 Develop a plan to inspect and assess unpermitted
industrial and commercial facilities that generate
significant contributions of POCs to impaired waters
Pollution Prevention from
Municipal Operations/Facilities
 The City must develop and implement a pollution prevention/
good housekeeping program for municipal operations and
facilities, including:
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Street and Bridge maintenance
Winter Road maintenance including deicing activities
Catch basin cleaning
Vehicle and Fleet maintenance
Park and Open Space maintenance
Solid Waste Management
Marine Operations
 Develop program to control and reduce to the MEP the
application of pesticides and fertilizers
 Require municipal facilities subject to MSGP requirements to
meet substantive requirements of the MSGP
Floatable Controls
 The City must continue to implement existing or improved
controls to reduce floatables and settleable solids from the
MS4 areas to waterbodies
 The City must also develop a methodology to determine
baseline floatable load and identify the best available
control technologies that can be implemented
 The City must evaluate their existing programs and
determine how/if they should be modified to meet the
objective of minimizing the discharge of floatable
materials from their MS4s
 Once methodology is approved, the City will have 2 years
to commence the study to determine the baseline load
Stormwater Monitoring
 The proposed permit requires the City to develop a Monitoring &
Assessment Program. The City will be allowed to expand on existing
programs or propose new methods to assess the effectiveness of their
SWMP to meet the following objectives:
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Assess compliance with the permit
Measure the effectiveness of the SWMP
Characterize and assess quality of discharges at representative outfalls
Identify sources of specific pollutants
Detect and eliminate illicit discharges
Evaluate long term trends
 The Monitoring and Assessment Program will be customized to
specific waterbodies, impairments, and pollutant sources of the MS4
 The City is required to implement the Monitoring and Assessment
Program to assess potential sources of discharge of stormwater POCs,
identify potential additional reduction measures for POCs, and
evaluate its progress in addressing the POCs
Significant Benefits
 Inspection and enforcement program will prevent
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pollutants from industrial, commercial, and construction
sites
Improved program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges
to the MS4 and to the waterbodies
A targeted program to minimize garbage, litter, and other
floatables from the MS4 areas
Best management practices to eliminate or reduce
pollutants from NYC’s municipal operations and facilities
Public education requirement will result in elimination of
some pollutants at their sources
Improved program to assess and monitor stormwater
discharges from MS4s
Timeline for Permit Issuance
 The draft Permit was public noticed on February 5, 2014
 Public had 30 days to comment on the draft Permit, but it
is being extended for 30 more days to April 7, 2014
 NYSDEC responds to the public comments and compiles a
Responsiveness Summary
 If no hearing is held, NYSDEC makes its final decision on
the Permit application within 120 (90+30) days of public
noticing
 If a hearing is held, the NYSDEC notifies the Permittee and
the public of a hearing within 90 (60+30) days of public
noticing – the Permit cannot be issued until the hearing
process is completed