New Stormwater Permits
Photo by Amanda Hatfield via flickr.
On December 5th, Vermont issued the second round of permits for municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4). The first round was required under the Clean Water Act in 2003. The first round permit covered twelve Chittenden County communities, UVM, the state Agency of Transportation, and the Burlington International Airport. The second round includes those same entities and adds Rutland City and Town, and St. Albans City and Town. These communities were added because they have stormwater impaired streams that run through them.
The permit requires all affected MS4s to meet six minimum measures: provide public education and outreach, involve the public, detect and eliminate illicit discharges, control construction site runoff, control runoff after construction, and develop a ‘good housekeeping’ procedure for municipally managed operations. In addition, the municipalities will be required to develop Flow Restoration Plans in order to clean up the stormwater impaired streams. The Flow Restoration Plans must include a schedule for restoration, but the schedule is allowed to stretch over 20 years.
