DEP to study ‘primacy’ for stormwater permitting

The Department of Environmental Protection on Nov. 6 announced the formation of an Advisory Committee to evaluate the possibility of seeking authorization from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to oversee and implement the federal Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program.
 
The announcement comes two months after the MMA’s Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment supported the idea of the Baker administration pursuing authorization from the EPA to implement the NPDES program.
 
Authorization would allow the state DEP to be the stormwater permit-issuing authority, rather than the EPA.
 
The federal Clean Water Act requires that the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit be re-evaluated every five years to ensure that it continues to protect the environment. The previous permit was issued in 2003.
 
Municipal storm sewer systems collect rain and snowmelt from streets and direct the flow to water bodies. The new MS4 permits will likely require communities to institute more advanced programs to reduce pollutants that are discharged into rivers, lakes and bays.
 
A state commission on infrastructure finance has estimated that implementing the EPA’s MS4 regulations would cost cities and towns as much as $18 billion over the next 20 years.
 
The first meeting of the DEP’s Advisory Committee was held on Nov. 23. Members, including the MMA, discussed staffing needs, cost estimates, funding, monitoring, standards and implementation.
 
The Advisory Committee plans to meet several more times before issuing a report.