MS4 STORM WATER
Welcome to the Borough's Stormwater Management Information page. This page is designed to provide Borough citizens with quick access to information and resources to preserve and protect clean water in the Borough and the Lancaster County regional community. East Petersburg Borough is actively involved in a variety of programs and initiatives to meet various Statewide and Natioanal goals for clean water. Local residents have a role to play too, which when combined together will have a positive impact on our environment and the water that is so important to us all.
Stormwater originates from rainfall and other precipitation that runs off of surfaces all over the Borough - rooftops, streets, construction sites, lawns, fields, etc. Stormwater makes its way into swails, storm drains, natural water courses and it literally takes everything loose on the ground with it when it rains...pollutants, sediment, leaves, trash, etc. The Borough is actively involved in meeting statutory permitting requirements under state and federal law. The Borough is also active with partners in a variety of programs and strategies to enhance water quality through plantings, mowing strategies, implementation of stormwater management facilites and other "best management practices" (BMPs).
We hope that you will find this information useful in learning about the requirements as well as tools to use on your own.
Storm Water Management - NPDES and MS4 Programs
The Clean Water Act is the federal legislation that governs stormwater management. Stormwater point discharges to waters of the U.S. (pipes and drain pipes) are regulated using National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
In 1999, federal regulations extended coverage of the NPDES program to local separate storm sewer systems (MS4’s) serving populations less than 100,000. East Petersburg Borough is required to comply with the NPDES program as a MS4 municipality. Under the NPDES stormwater program, permittees must develop a stormwater management plan that provides the details of how the community will comply with the requirements of the permit. Permits are based on a framework of six minimum control measures:
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Public education and outreach
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Public participation and involvement
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Illicit discharge detection and elimination
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Construction site runoff control
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Post-construction storm water management in new development and redevelopment
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Pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations and maintenance
Quick Reference Links on Storm Water Management.
There are a variety of documents and guides available on the Borough website and other from sources that you will find useful in learning about stormwater managment and best management practices for construction, residential homes and business. See these links below:
Stormwater Management Documents
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/dep_home
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Stormwater Discharges From Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) Site http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/munic.cfm
EPA's Chesapeake Bay TMDL http://www.epa.gov/chesapeakebaytmdl/
Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual http://www.elibrary.dep.state.pa.us/dsweb/View/Collection-8305
Stroud Water Research Center http://stroudcenter.org/
What Residents Can Do Now
The goals of all MS4 program and the Borough are to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the Borough, to protect water quality and to satisfy requirements of the Clean Water Act. Get involved.
Storm water from your home and from the public streets goes into a storm sewer, which goes directly into streams. This water is not cleaned in any way and does not go to the waste water treatment plant. The Borough needs all of its residents to assist us in keeping our storm water and storm water sewer system clean by doing the following:
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dispose of water properly;
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clean up after your pets;
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use fertilizers properly and efficiently to prevent excess runoff
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store materials that could pollute storm water indoors.
Also, please monitor storm water inlets near your property. No one should dump anything into the storm sewer system. If you see someone dumping please call the Borough at (717) 569-9282.
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Sediment leaving a construction site in stormwater;
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Spills (Chemical, Gas, Oil);
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Illegal dumping activity into streams or storm sewers (PLEASE CALL 911 FIRST);
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Dry weather flows from outfall pipes into streams (72 hours after a rain storm)
Again, residents may be the first to recognize "illicit" discharges such as dumping into storm sewers or coming out of from storm sewer outfalls. If you see an "illicit" discharge please report that to the Borough by calling (717) 569-9282.
Attached Files:
raindrainbrochure.pdf
carwash_poster.pdf
fertiliz_poster.pdf
petwaste_poster.pdf
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