November 2020

• New MS4 permit to be issued soon
• New MS4 permit chloride reduction requirements
• Sign up now! MPCA smart salting trainings
• MN Stormwater Manual updates
• Ensuring compliant construction site inspections
• MPCA presentation on iron-enhanced sand filters performance available
• New Minnesota climate website
• 2020-2021 GreenCorps members selected for green infrastructure work
• Upcoming events

New MS4 permit to be issued soon

The new MPCA Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General NPDES Permit will be reissued Monday November 16, 2020. Existing MS4 permittees will have 150 days (until April 15, 2021) to complete and submit their permit application forms to the MPCA. For more information about the upcoming permit application process, please visit the MPCA municipal stormwater website.

New MS4 permit chloride reduction requirements

The revised MS4 permit includes new requirements aimed at reducing chloride pollution. They include: Community outreach and education about the environmental harm posed by de-icing salt use Implementing a written snow and ice management policy Training for those performing winter maintenance activities for the permittee Proper de-icing salt storage practices Some permittees must also conduct an annual winter maintenance operations assessment to assist in identifying de-icing salt reduction opportunities on permittee owned/operated surfaces. The MPCA Stormwater Wiki offers guidance on requirements for permittees that have an applicable wasteload allocation (WLA) for chloride and meeting chloride TMDL permit requirements. A recent online virtual discussion was hosted by the MPCA for permittees to discuss the new chloride permit requirements, hear success stories from other MS4s that have already realized the benefits of smarter salting practices, and to answer any questions about the new requirements.The recorded WebEx event and the presentations can be found on the MPCA Water permit holders and chloride webpage.This site also offers a more detailed summary of all chloride related requirements. The MPCA Smart Salting Certification Training Program is available to permittees as an option to meet the training requirement.The MPCA Smart Salting Assessment tool (SSAt) is an optional tool available to assist with conducting annual assessments. It’s a free online tool that can be used to evaluate your winter maintenance operations and help your organization identify and plan for future salt reduction activities. Check out the new Statewide Chloride Management Plan on public notice now for additional support in reducing chloride.The plan was developed in cooperation with stakeholders from around the state.The plan may be used to: Better understand chloride sources. Determine goals for local reductions in salt use. Detect and prioritize critical areas for reducing salt use. Implement and measure those goals. Research strategies to reach local goals. Implement and measure those goals. Learn what tools and resources the MPCA has for reducing salt use For more information about the MS4 General Permit reissuance, visit the MPCA municipal stormwater webpage. If you have additional questions about the new chloride-related permit requirements, please contact cole.landgraf@state.mn.us.

Sign up now! MPCA smart salting trainings

Winter is here! Now is the time to rethink your salting habits. Get Smart Salting certified today to reduce your salt use, save on annual costs, and reduce your environmental impact.   Public and private property managers, those who manage or hire snow removal, winter maintenance contractors, environmental professionals, and public maintenance crews can learn how to apply less salt safely while improving operations by taking the training. Check out the new MPCA Smart Salting Training for Winter Maintenance Professionals promo video. Hear the value of getting certified from other maintenance pros who are using less salt and still offering a high level of service! There are still a few FREE trainings available this fall. Register now on the MPCA Smart Salting Training calendar! If you are interested in hosting a class for your crew or in your community, please contact angela.bourdaghs@state.mn for details. Why attend? More efficient operations: improve your winter maintenance practices. Save money and time: reduce salt use and annual infrastructure damage costs, becoming salt smart allows more time for other tasks. Protect our water resources: learn the environmental effects of chloride in our valuable water resources.  Earn your MPCA Smart Salting Certification by passing an optional test and get listed on the MPCA website.  Questions? Email smartsalting.pca@state.mn.us.

MN Stormwater Manual updates

As most of you know, the Stormwater Manual wiki was down for approximately three months this summer. We appreciate your patience during this time and hopefully we were able to respond to your requests in a timely manner.

While the wiki is back up, there are still a few things that need to be fixed. We continue to work on those. If you are on a page and something doesn’t look quite right, try refreshing the page.

One item we appear to have lost is the ability to provide comments in the comment box at the bottom of each page in the wiki. If you have comments, suggested edits, or other suggestions, please send them to mike.trojan@state.mn.us.

Ensuring compliant construction site inspections

Conducting and recording inspections at construction sites is an important requirement of the MPCA Construction Stormwater General Permit. 

Recently, MPCA construction stormwater inspectors have been encountering permittees allowing untrained individuals to conduct, record and sign off on inspection reports. This is not compliant with the requirements of the permit. Even if a trained individual is signing off on the reports, individuals without training cannot conduct and record the inspections. Individuals must obtain training from local, state and federal agencies, professional organizations, or other entities with expertise in erosion and sediment control, permanent stormwater treatment requirements, and other requirements of the MPCA permit. The minimum length of training required for conducting and recording inspections is 10 – 12 hours.

Ensure that a trained individual is doing inspections at least once every seven days and within 24 hours after a rainfall event greater than ½ inch in 24 hours. If construction is suspended due to frozen ground conditions, the trained individual must still conduct and record inspections within 24 hours of a winter runoff event (snow melt or rainfall), or upon resuming construction to ensure BMPs are effective and no water quality impacts have occurred.

It’s important to ensure that inspection reports are adequately detailed. The more details inspections contain, the more likely any issues posing potential for harm to the environment will be resolved in a timely manner. Ensure the reports include:

• accurate findings of inspections, including specific locations inspected, observations, and if corrective actions are needed or have been performed. Failing to include accurate findings may lead to corrective actions not being addressed as soon as possible to prevent further issues from occurring at a site;
• the time and date of an inspection so that inspection reports provide a precise account of when activities, issues, and corrective actions happened at the site;
• and rainfall amounts must be recorded because having rainfall amounts recorded within inspections provides insight to what the site is experiencing. Note, not every site will be within one mile of a weather station that provides an account of the rainfall amount a site received within a 24 hour period. In that case, having some sort of weather reporting system (rain gauge or other) on a site to provide this type of information is required.

If a discharge from the site occurs during construction, a trained individual is required to record and document the discharge even if an inspection was already conducted and recorded earlier that day. Also, don’t forget that it’s the duty of every person to notify the agency immediately of a discharge into waters of the state, accidental or otherwise. This can be done by making a call to the Minnesota Duty Officer at 651-649-5451 or 800-422-0798.

MPCA presentation on iron-enhanced sand filters performance available

Iron-enhanced sand filters (IESFs) are commonly installed to control dissolved phosphorus, but Minnesota needs additional long-term field data to quantify and understand IESF performance in real-world settings and scales. From 2015-2018, MPCA partnered with several local governmental units to sample 10 IESFs. MPCA Stormwater Research Scientist David Fairbairn recently presented preliminary results of this research at the 2020 Water Resources Conference. The presentation slides are available now, with a complete report planned for early 2021. Information on the presentation can be found here: https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=Iron_enhanced_sand_filter_(Minnesota_Filter)

New Minnesota climate website

As a result of Governor Tim Walz’s climate Executive Order 19- 37 for action on climate change, Minnesota has a new Our Minnesota Climate website featuring state and community initiatives being implemented in all sectors to both fight and prepare for a changing climate. Check it out!

2020-2021 GreenCorps members selected for green infrastructure work

Ben Rolland graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul with a major in Environmental Science and will be serving with Rice Creek Watershed District in Blaine.

Bethany Chaplin graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a degree in Environmental Science and will be serving with Crow Wing Soil & Water Conservation District at Brainerd.

Gabriela Passmore went to Gustavus Adophus College in St. Peter where she majored in English with a writing emphasis and will be serving with the City of Lake Crystal.

Nadia Alsadi graduated from the University of Minnesota with an MS in Natural Resources Science and Management and will be serving with Metro Blooms in Minneapolis.

Stephanie Nielsen graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with an Environment & Sustainability degree and will be serving with Minnesota Sea Grant at Duluth.

Upcoming events

Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP) hosts a series of webinars on climate adaptation and resiliency in Minnesota. The webinars are from noon - 1 p.m. and the next sessions will be on Nov. 18, 2020, and Dec. 16, 2020. Check here for registration information.

Minnesota Stormwater Seminar Series Nov.19, 2020 10 a.m. – noon CDT: Designing of the Next Generation of Sustainable Urban Stormwater Practices. Click here to Register.

Newsletter contact

If you have questions about or suggestions for this newsletter, contact Roberta Getman, MPCA-Rochester, 507-206-2629.