Municipal Regulations
The Conservation District partners with 9 local municipalities and the County of Blair known as the Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee (ISC), to implement the Public Education and Public Participation efforts of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program.
Polluted runoff is often transported through municipal stormwater systems where it is eventually discharged into streams untreated. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a municipal stormwater management program known as the MS4 Program that is intended to improve our Nation’s waters by reducing the quantities of pollutants that stormwater collects and transports during a storm event. As part of the MS4 Program, your municipality may hold a permit to discharge their stormwater into local waterways. This permit requires the municipality to design a stormwater management program that reduces said discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent possible. Which will protect water quality and satisfy the water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act. In Pennsylvania, the MS4 Program is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The MS4 Stormwater management program has six elements termed “Minimum Control Measures” (MCMs) which when implemented should result in significant reduction of pollutants within receiving waters. The six Minimum Control Measures and the actions required by your municipality are outlined below.
Education & Outreach
Distribute educational materials and conduct outreach to inform citizens about the impacts that stormwater runoff has on water quality.
Public Participation & Involvement
Provide opportunities for citizens to participate in the stormwater management program or other programs which improve water quality.
Discharge Detection & Elimination
Develop and implement a plan to detect and eliminate non-stormwater discharges into the stormwater system.
Construction Site Runoff Control
Develop, implement, and enforce (often with the assistance of the Conservation District) an erosion and sediment control program for construction site activities that disturb one acre or greater.
Post-Construction Runoff Control
Develop, implement, and enforce a program to address discharges of post-construction stormwater runoff from new development or redevelopment areas.
Pollution Prevention
Develop and implement a program that reduces or prevents pollutant runoff from municipal operations.
The Conservation District and our local municipalities are committed to improving water quality in their watersheds. Every resident and business owner can participate in their municipal stormwater program by reducing runoff through the reduction of impervious surfaces, preventing the creation of polluted runoff from a property, and reporting any non-stormwater discharges into local waterways.