Minnesota Pollution Control Agency logo on white background [ [link removed] ]




Stormwater news banner









Keeping Minnesota stormwater (and our rivers and lakes) clean






"April, 2025"

________________________________________________________________________



MS4 Stormwater resources online
MN Stormwater Manual

Looking for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (M4) information and compliance resources?

Then visit the Minnesota Stormwater Manual [ [link removed] ]. 

This updated website provides you will template ordinances, educational flyer examples, and much more. 

MS4 Page [ [link removed](MS4) ]


* Minimum Control Measures 1 - Public Education and Outreach [ [link removed] ]
* Minimum Control Measures 2 - Public Participation/Involvement [ [link removed] ]
* Minimum Control Measures 3 - Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination [ [link removed] ]
* Minimum Control Measures 4 - Construction Site Stormwater Control [ [link removed] ]
* Minimum Control Measures 5 - Post-Construction Stormwater Management [ [link removed] ]
* Minimum Control Measures 6 - Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping [ [link removed] ]

________________________________________________________________________



Top 5 construction stormwater (CSW) permit violations

Construction at St. Francis WWTF

While many companies and government agencies are doing a good job following the Construction Stormwater Permit requirements, we still see CSW permit violations when MPCA staff visit a construction site. Here are the top five noncompliant items we found in 2024.



unstabilized soils

 

**1. Failure to conduct and record construction stormwater inspections weekly and after a 1/2" rainfall. **CSW permittees need to conduct site inspections every seven days and within 24 hours after a rainfall event of 1/2" or more. CSW inspectors regularly review a contractor's inspection reports when they conduct inspections. 

*2. Failure to stabilize exposed soils. *CSW permittees need to stabilize exposed soils within 14 or 7 days, depending on the site. If exposed soils, including soil stockpiles have volunteer weeds growing on them, they they are often out of compliance. 



*3. Failure to provide downgradient sediment controls. *Downgradient sediment control keeps dirt from leaving a construction site and polluting public waterways. If sediment or muddy water is leaving a construction site, or it could leave during the next rainstorm, a site may be noncompliant. 

downgradient sediment controls

redundant protection missing

*4. Failure to install a vehicle tracking BMP.         *If vehicles track mud off of a construction site and onto pavement, that sediment can wash down storm drains and pollute local waterways. It can also make roads slippery, leading to a driving safety hazard.

*5. Failure to install redundant sediment controls for projects within 50 feet of a public water. *Permittees must preserve a 50-foot natural buffer or, if a buffer is infeasible on the site, provide redundant (double) perimeter sediment controls when a surface water is located within 50 feet of the project's earth disturbances and stormwater flows to the surface water. Permittees must install perimeter sediment controls at least 5 feet apart unless limited by lack of available space.



________________________________________________________________________



*Free Smart Salting for community leaders workshop *

*Forward to your elected officials and other decision makers today!*

Salt on sidewalk

Did you know that chloride from de-icing salt, water softeners, fertilizer and dust suppressants is toxic to freshwater fish, insects and plants and damages our infrastructure? Sixty-eight lakes and streams in Minnesota are currently impaired by chloride. You can check out your local water’s chloride conditions [ [link removed] ] and be a part of the solution by attending the MPCA Smart Salting for Community Leader’s workshop.

Nine Mile Creek Watershed District is partnering with the MPCA Chloride reduction program to offer the free virtual 2-hour workshop. Learn about chloride impacts and action steps for policy changes that reduce salt pollution in your community.

This workshop is geared for:


* City council members, county commissioners, and other elected officials
* Members of sustainability and environmental commissions
* Board members of housing associations, neighborhood associations, or watershed districts
* Other local decision makers

*Thursday, April 17 11am-1pm -* *Register* [ [link removed] ]

"MPCA's Smart Salting for Community Leaders is an introductory workshop and is not a replacement for the MPCA’s Property Management, Roads, or Parking Lot and Sidewalks Certification Trainings, it does not meet MS4 training requirements". Visit Smart Salting training [ [link removed] ] for more info or contact [email protected] to host a workshop.



________________________________________________________________________



TMDL update

Quarry by Root River

Did you miss the MECA annual conference in January? You can find the latest updates about the TMDL portion of the  MS4 annual reporting e-service here: Guidance for completing the TMDL reporting form - Minnesota Stormwater Manual [ [link removed] ]

Link to a copy of the presentation here: [link removed]

Any questions about TMDLs and associated reporting? Please contact Anna Bosch at [email protected] or 218-316-3929.



________________________________________________________________________



*Progress update: stormwater manual moving in 2025*

Pine Lake in the BWCA

MPCA staff is in the process of moving the Minnesota Stormwater Manual to a new platform. The new website should go live in August or September 2025.

*Q:   Will I be able to access the stormwater wiki after the new website goes live?*

A:    Unfortunately, once the new site goes live, URL addresses associated with the wiki will be transferred to the new website. This means that the wiki will no longer be available online. But never fear, the entire contents of the stormwater wiki have copied are living safely in a development environment on an MPCA server.

*Q:   Will links to my favorite pages in the stormwater manual work with the new site?*

A:    Yes/No - Page URLs will migrate along with manual page content; however some amount of content restructuring is unavoidable. We expect that _some_ links to pages or resources in the manual will need to be updated when the new site goes live.

*Q:   Should I expect to see changes in technical content when the new site goes live?*

A:    Yes/No - All technical content in the stormwater wiki will be preserved, and we may be able to include new content that we are currently developing on stormwater residuals management, Low Salt Design guidance, GSI, and other topics

*Q:   How will I find my old favorites on the new stormwater manual website?*

A:    The website will have new navigation menus similar in structure to the existing wiki index categories, and the many internal links in the stormwater wiki will largely be preserved. As with the wiki, the new page will also include a key word search function.



________________________________________________________________________



*University of MN r**egulatory enforcement training*

Regulatory Enforcement photo

The University of Minnesota Erosion and Stormwater Management Certification Program is offering their *Regulatory Enforcement* class on *April 30, 2025* at Glacial Valley Park Building in Cottage Grove. This full-day course provides a mix of classroom presentations and exercises in the morning and field inspection exercises in the afternoon. The course provides a discussion forum for questions throughout the day. 

This course is for people who are responsible for inspecting construction sites for compliance through a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System entity (MS4) and is a great opportunity to "calibrate" with other inspectors, to share experiences and tips, and to meet people who have the same job role as you do.

For more information visit [link removed] [ [link removed] ]

Register at [link removed] [ [link removed] ] 



________________________________________________________________________



Seeking Smart Salting training partners!

smart salt logo1

The MPCA is looking for partners to bring Smart Salting trainings to their staff, community or businesses to learn about deicing salt reduction practices and resources and meet MS4 annual winter maintenance training requirements to protect water resources

 

The MPCA Smart Salting Training program provides certifications for winter maintenance crews, supervisors and property managers to improve the effectiveness of their winter maintenance activities that keep pavement surfaces safe while saving money and preventing excess salt from entering our lakes, rivers and wetlands. MPCA Smart Salting certification trainings have allowed organizations to reduce their salt use up to 70%.

Smart Salting certification trainings that are available:


* Roads
* Parking lots & sidewalks
* Property management
* Rural roads * available soon.

Smart Salting refreshers for those with a current certification:


* Liquid deicer
* Weather for winter maintenance
* Salt & snow storage
* 101

For training details visit: www.pca.state.mn.us/smartsalting [ [link removed] ]

Trainings can be in-person at your facility, in a community location, or online and we collaborate to choose a date that works best for your organization. We encourage offering a couple of training types to fit the needs of your community or organization. Training is available privately or offered to the public.

Please email the MPCA Chloride reduction program at [email protected] for more information about hosting a Smart Salting training.







________________________________________________________________________







Stormwater News Briefs

________________________________________________________________________



MS4 implementation guide

The MPCA MS4 stormwater program is developing a permit implementation guide for the MS4 General permit, to help permittees through developing and implementing a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP). The goal is to simplify and streamline resources for permittees to implement programs described under Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) 1 through 6, including sample checklists, educational flyers, and other materials. The guide should be completed in mid-2025. MS4 staff will let permittees know when this resource is available. 

________________________________________________________________________



*MS4 part 1 permit application due May 20, 2025*

All existing MS4 permittees that have coverage under the 2020 MS4 General Permit must submit the Part 1 Permit Application (with $400 application fee) by May 20, 2025. Please download and follow the instructions in the application.

*Part 1 Permit Application [ [link removed] ]*

________________________________________________________________________



*Annual reporting deferred for all MS4 permittees covered by the 2020 MS4 general permit *

The MPCA is still in the process of developing a new e-service for the MS4 annual report. Reporting is deferred until the e-service is available. At that time, MS4 permittees will be expected to begin reporting MS4 activities for each previous reporting year (i.e., each calendar year after 2021).

For more information about the MS4 annual report, visit the *MS4 annual report webpage [ [link removed] ]*. 

________________________________________________________________________



MS4 annual assessments of MCM 1-6 still required

Remember, even though MS4 annual reporting has been delayed while the MPCA develops the new e-service, MS4 permittees must continue to conduct *internal* annual assessments for MCMs 1-6 each year (Permit items 16.9, 17.8, 18.18, 19.16, 20.23, and 21.15).

During audits, several permittees have reported that they hadn't conducted annual assessments. The result is six permit violations (almost 10% of audit items).

The annual assessment is a permittee's opportunity to evaluate SWPPP compliance and determine improvements to better keep stormwater (and our rivers and lakes) clean. 

Be sure to conduct annual assessments of MCM 1-6. If you have any questions, contact your MPCA MS4 Inspector. To find your inspector, *CLICK HERE* [ [link removed] ].

________________________________________________________________________







Questions about stormwater?

MPCA stormwater staff are available to answer questions about stormwater and your MS4 permit requirements. Click the button below to find staff contact information. 

*MS4 Staff Directory* [ [link removed] ]











Contact

If you have questions about or suggestions for this newsletter, contact:

 

Kevin Strauss

MPCA-Rochester

[email protected]

507-206-2624

 






The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is a state agency committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate.








  MPCA logo [ [link removed] ]   Manage preferences [ [link removed] ]  |  Help [ [link removed] ]  |  pca.state.mn.us [ [link removed] ]   MPCA Facebook [ [link removed] ] MPCA Instagram [ [link removed] ] MPCA LinkedIn [ [link removed] ] MPCA YouTube [ [link removed] ] MPCA Twitter [ [link removed] ]  
________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency 
520 Lafayette Road North · Saint Paul, MN 55155 · 1-800-439-1420


body .abe-column-block {min-height: 5px;}