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Part 2 - Storm Water Regulations and Municipal Storm Water Management
By Patrick Bryan, Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District
The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District provides flood control and urban storm water services in a 400-square mile watershed located between the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers.
The District is home to approximately 650,000 people and includes both urban and agricultural land uses. The Fresno/Clovis urban area is served by a system of approximately 640 miles of pipeline and 154 stormwater retention/recharge basins. The basin system recharges 70-85% of the annual stormwater runoff into the local aquifer, the community's primary water supply. Typically, 50-80% of common stormwater pollutants settle out of runoff before it is discharged to canals and the San Joaquin River.
Water quality monitoring of the San Joaquin River is performed regularly to determine if stormwater runoff causes or contributes to exceedances of water quality standards. Due to the pollutant removal efficiency of regional storm water basin systems, water quality standards are met. The MS4 Permit is a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act, administered by the State requiring local government to control water pollution discharged within their jurisdiction. The District is the lead agency responsible for implementation of the MS4 Permit requirements in the area, along with Co-Permittee agencies the City of Clovis, City of Fresno, County of Fresno, and California State University, Fresno.
On April 1, 2014 the SWRCB adapted a NEW IGP which goes into effect this year on July 1, 2015. The IGP replaces the current permit issued in 1997. So what does this mean for municipal agencies in California like the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District and for regulated industries? There are currently approximately 200 active IGP industrial facilities under the old IGP. Under the IGP industrial facilities are expected to increase by an additional 2,000 facilities. Facilities with industrial activities that are not exposed to industrial activity will now be required to obtain an annual No Exposure Certification (NEC) and pay an annual certification fee ($200) to the state. NECs are submitted to the SWRCB that industrial activities at the site are not exposed to rain water and that site-related contaminants will not be picked up by stormwater runoff and discharge off site. In other words, the new permit is relatively significant to industrial users as it effectively brings ALL industries, including previously excluded "light industry," such as wineries and printers, into the regulatory process, not just those with activities that are exposed to storm water.
The NEW IGP now reflects current science and for some industrial categories this includes Numeric Effluent Limitations (NELs). The IGP requires dischargers to sample their stormwater effluent, send the storm water samples to a lab for analysis and compare the results to statewide benchmarks Numeric Action Levels (NALs). If a discharger exceeds a NAL, the discharger has to implement Exceedance Response Actions (ERAs) to address the NAL exceedance, site evaluation and report by a Qualified Industrial Stormwater Practitioner.
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