MS4 program hits the big time

Yesterday, we had a full and overflowing group of representatives from MS4s who wanted to learn more about completing their application for a stormwater permit. We organized the meeting on short notice, so the rooms available in St. Paul were crammed with folks, notebooks in hand. I can't say a good time was had by all, but it was encouraging that a lot of people had their questions answered. I'm going to try and get some of the materials used by the trainers onto the beautifully redesigned and more ergonomic MS4 page. (Be sure to hit your browser's refresh button if you've been to the site before or you won't see the new design.)
-Dan

Free water?

A neighbor in Cambridge said he'll green up his grass when he turns on his well-water fed irrigation system. Pretty handy for those with a well. But at my house in town, the grass is the color of sunbleached hay. It's a combination of not enough water and the fact that they dropped the sod on top of sand that's packed hard by heavy construction equipment. So basically, the grass is on a skillet and it hasn't got a chance unless we get a ton of rain. I'm planning to put in gutters on one side of my house to drain into a rain barrel so I'll have some water, but I got to thinking--what if I diverted water from my kitchen sink!? Clean enough, I guess. So I shot the question off (worded specifically not to incriminate me) to Bill Dunn, an MPCA wastewater expert. His reply:

Kooks will do almost anything. People on holding tanks are also equally creative. Technically, gray water is sewage and regulated as such. Meaning proper treatment. One has to wonder why they would do it and if the grass would die.

I'll stick with gutters and rain barrels for watering my lawn ... until I think of something else.
-Dan

Leftover permits

I'm working on a postcard to construction site owners and builders to encourage them to keep erosion under control at their sites ... and I'm finding that many (300 or so) have permits that aren't terminated going way back into the 90s. Our county/watershed district partners have gone to these sites and determined that construction is in fact done. The file is 'closed' at the MPCA, but the permit isn't terminated. This means that if there is a stormwater problem on that site, they could still be held liable, even if they're sipping cool drinks in Florida ...

Rain harvesting

This summer I'm going to install gutters on the east side of my house and plant a rain barrel under the downspout. My main reason for doing this is because I have city water that costs money and I'd like to water my lawn. So, you see, I'm starting to see water as a resource ... The wheels are turning.

Got stormwater issues?

If you're free, send me a message, and let me know how you'd like to get stormwater information from the MPCA. There are efforts underway to make the agency more accessible--Web conferencing, podcasting, etc., but I'd like to hear how you'd like/or not like to hear stormwater news from the MPCA. Speaking of which, there is a stormwaternews e-mail list that I send out news through, occasionally. You may want to join if you want to get the big, official stormwater news from the agency.

Here's the skinny: To sign up,
To subscribe, send an e-mail to majordomo@lists.state.mn.us with the following in the message body:

subscribe stormwaternews \ your e-mail address

Thought you might like to know.

Slimmer streets, cleaner water?

In an April 12 story in the South Washington County Bulletin, writer Tom Kaiser reports that the city of Cottage Grove approved a plan to narrow a limited number of streets in a new development to test the public safety/ecological benefits.In the Minnesota Stormwater Manual (ch.4, pg.9), narrower streets is listed as only one of a variety of 'better site design' techniques for restricting the spread of impervious surfaces. Narrower sidewalks, smaller cul-de-sacs, and shared driveways are also offered.

Rain gardens growing more popular

According to the Metropolitan Council, rain gardens are catching on across the region. Read the story in the Met Council's Directions e-newsletter.

And don't forget the 'danger' posed by rain gardens in this Pioneer Press story.

A clean sweep

I took a long weekend--and spent a few hours on the front lawn watching the world go by with my year-old son. Because I'm 'into' stormwater, I did pay attention to the vacuum-type street sweeper that noisily--and slowly--rounded the corner nearby. It occured to me that it would take a lot of time to catch all the streets in Cambridge at that pace.

The MPCA recommends at least two city sweeps every year:
1. Right away in the spring--just as soon as the snow melts
2. In the fall, to gather up all the leaves.

The BMP Summary Sheets (required under the MS4 Permit) make it clear that street sweeping isn't required:

Although not specifically required by the MS4 permit, street sweeping has been demonstrated to be an effective stormwater management BMP when properly conducted. The MPCA is considering developing a study on street sweeping and your information would be helpful in developing such a study.

Beat up silt fences

According to the MPCA stormwater program, the top stormwater violations in construction are missing or unmaintained erosion and sediment controls--especially silt fences.
In particular, they find that silt fences are getting battered because sites are missing upgradient (higher on a hill) erosion controls, like mulch and seed blankets. When those aren't in place to keep the sediment from moving in the first place silt fences are overburdened.

Reinforcing the enforcement

This afternoon, I'm going to the 2006 MPCA Enforcement Conference. I beat out other folks at the agency who wanted a seat there, so it must be a must-see. Never been there, but I'm told that the two-day conference is a good way to get to know how the MPCA works. It looks like the head of the stormwater program, Mark Schmitt, will give some updates ... enforcement coordinator Ken Moon will speak too.

As much as we work to be a partnering, collaborating and assisting agency (even more so with the merger with the Office of Environmental Assistance, which is now part of the Prevention and Assistance Division), the MPCA will always have to be a regulatory/enforcement agency.

Expect supplemented guidance for MS4s
Stormwater program leaders at the MPCA say they'll be adding some additional information to instructions for the BMP Summary Sheet document. They said it won't be a "revision" and that nothing will be changed to the requirements. The sheets I'm talking about are at the MPCA's MS4 site.

Star Tribune presents both sides of impaired water dilemma

Sunday's Star Tribune provided an in-depth look at the dilemmas facing Minnesota in cleaning up our polluted waters. Reporter Tom Meersman interviewed both environmentalists, MPCA and cities about clean water and development issues. Assistant MPCA commissioner Lisa Thorvig also contributed comments:

The Clean Water Act does not require that water be drinkable, but that it be swimmable and fishable. Lisa Thorvig, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's assistant commissioner for water policy, said that about two of every five lakes and rivers checked so far have failed that test.

The story's really about pollution from wastewater plants, but there are some parallels with stormwater--new developments add impervious surfaces which channel dirty stormwater into lakes.

Identify impaired or 'protected' water near you
Whether you're a developer or you're just curious, you should check out the Special and Impaired Waters search tool at the MPCA construction stormwater Web site. You can zoom in to a particular area of interest--Roseville (take a look at the picture below) for instance--and see whether its lakes are listed by the MPCA as being polluted (i.e. impaired) for things like excess nutrients, chloride and/or mercury.Anyone can see the quality of surface water in Minnesota lakes and rivers with the MPCA's GIS mapping tool. Here's a map of Roseville. © 2006 MPCA

With the tools on the left side of the page, you can ID locations, measure distances and more through the power of GIS mapping. This could come in handy for construction site operators who need to maintain specific distances from 'special waters' like wetlands.

New staff member to improve program effectiveness
Paul Leegard will start Wednesday, May 3, in the MPCA’s Stormwater Policy and Technical Assistance Unit. Paul will be taking the new Program Analyst position. Paul will analyze and map the agency’s business processes and data management needs then advise on improvements. He comes to the MPCA with a great deal of experience doing this type of work with DEED, Mn/DOT, and Anoka County.

April rain
A lot of the rain that came last night missed my home north of the Twin Cities, but on the way in to work today it looked like the St. Paul area got socked. The gas station across the street has a large puddle that turns the station island into an island. Which reminds me that gas stations and other fuel-filling locations are called 'potential stormwater hot spots' (PSHs--another acronym) in Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Stormwater Manual. That means the water could be easily contaminated and if allowed to infiltrate freely (through a rain garden, e.g.) the pollutants could reach ground water.

Minnesota and Wisconisn shake hands over St. Croix
According to a story (States to sign deal protecting St. Croix) in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota and Wisconsin have agreed to a voluntary goal for the reduction of phosphorous in the St. Croix River. Quotes from the story--an assistant commissioner from the MPCA is quoted:

[S]tudies have shown that agriculture and increased development in the river's 7,760-square-mile watershed over the past half-century have funneled more phosphorus to it. A 2004 report predicted the river's water quality would continue to decline unless regulatory practices in the watershed change.

Population in the river's watershed is projected to increase 40 percent from 2000 to 2020, with St. Croix and Washington counties showing particularly strong recent growth.

Agricultural runoff and wastewater treatment plants already have been identified as key culprits.

"This isn't something that is required; it's something that's trying to get ahead of the game to keep waters from becoming further polluted,'' said Lisa Thorvig, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The St. Croix River, Somerset Township
Image from the Metropolitan Design Center Image Bank © Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

A good sign














Keep the dirt where it is. A photo taken during the tour taken with Watershed District stormwater partners (JPAs) April 4. Photo © 2006 MPCA

Frozen culverts cause isolated flooding in Red River Valley
Dan Olson (MPCA), who works out of the agency's Detroit Lakes office, said the Fargo Forum web site is a good place to see flood preparations and predictions for NW Minnesota. In an e-mail, Dan said:

There is a lot of [spotty] overland flooding going on in this region because in some places the culverts are still frozen and the water is backing up into fields.

Preparing a farm for floodwaters
Plenty of state agencies are working to prevent damage from the floods in the Red River Valley. The MPCA, I'm told, is assisting as well--but won't come to the fore until floodwaters recede.

The MPCA is urging farmers to get rid of manure stockpiles and to divert water from manure storage locations. Tanks, underground and above-ground, are also a pollution concern. Beside anchoring tanks, the MPCA recommends filling farm tanks with "product" to keep them from floating and to shut all emergency valve in case tanks are bumped or moved.
I'll try to get in touch with our feedlot communication person to find out what's being done on the ground in flooded areas ... Check out the MPCA's feedlot information. Photo © MPCA

Flood: Moorhead protects stormwater infrastructure
Molly MacGregor (MPCA), who works out of the agency's Detroit Lakes office, said she spoke with Andy Bradshaw, stormwater coordinator the City of Moorhead. She writes:

In response to [your] question about stormwater and pollution, if it is not raining, then [Bradshaw said] the concern is to block anything that river water could back up into – the stormwater system, etc; The city has lift stations for some locations on the stormwater system where they will bring in a portable pump on a tractor (I am pushing my technical limits here!) and pump water out to keep pressure equalized on the city infrastructure. All new developments in Moorhead have stormwater detention ponds.

Here’s a link to how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helped Breckenridge address flood mitigation after the 1997 flood – I was told that stormwater ponds that can be pump-out spots during a flood were part of this project.

The International Red River Board assessed how well the jurisdictions (ND, MN and Manitoba) followed up with flood forecasting and mitigation after 1997 – it doesn’t mention stormwater but it does mention the movement of hazardous materials and nutrients due to the 1997 flood.

Red River Valley Flooding II
Talked to Sam Brungardt (MPCA), our information officer responsible for emergency response: Sam said the PCA is ready to help the flooded areas in NW Minnesota, but it's main job will be after the flood--during the cleanup. But, he said, there's important information citizens and farmers can use to get ready for rising waters at the MPCA flood site. More later.
Floodwaters © MPCA

Red River Valley Flooding
Though there isn't any up-to-date information about this year's flood, you'll find comprehensive information about stormwater in the valley at the Red River Regional Storm Water Association Web site. Later this morning I'm going to find the fact sheets the MPCA has on stormwater and flooding--esp. as they relate to feedlots ... Thanks for reading.

Stormwater Generates Heat
Our own Ken Moon (MPCA), compliance coordinator reported through an EPA stormwater list serv (which you may have received) that staff inspected 25 percent of sites covered by an NPDES stormwater construction permit:

We are inspecting about 25% of the CSW sites annually using the States inspection program (this is impressive after phase II) and this presence is being felt by the regulated parties. It is generating other partnerships within the building communities, one example is a request for joint CSW training, as pressure by their members to avoid delays and (I would like to think) enforcement has prompted them to request it.

In Moon's report he said that, in part, because of help from members of a pilot partnering (PCA has partnered with a handful of SWCDs, counties, cities, watershed districts to have them do site inspections) arrangement, the stormwater program has become the top generator of enforcement actions at the PCA.
Stormwater inspectors take in a dirty site © MPCA