What is an MS4?
The acronym MS4 is short for a “Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.” From a practical perspective, it implies that a municipality, or municipal like entity, has a stormwater permit and is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to develop and implement a stormwater management program to reduce the contamination of stormwater runoff and prohibit illicit discharges. The program must include six minimum control measures (MCMs) related to stormwater runoff; 1) Public Education and Outreach, 2) Public Involvement and Participation, 3) Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination, 4) Construction Site Runoff Control, 5) Post Construction Stormwater Management, and 6) Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping. Additional Information on these six MCMs can be found below under "permit requirements".
HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM
Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), from which it is often discharged untreated into local water bodies. To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into an MS4, operators must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and develop a stormwater management program.
Phase I of the MS4 Program, issued in 1990, required medium and large cities or certain counties with populations of 100,000 or more to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. Phase II, issued in 1999, required regulated small MS4s in urbanized areas, as well as small MS4s outside the urbanized areas that are designated by the permitting authority (PaDEP in Pennsylvania), to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. The original six (6) MS4 Partners fell under the Phase II program and received their first permits from PaDEP in 2003. Spring Township, the seventh partner in the Centre County MS4 program, received its initial permit in April 2019. Benner Township, the only other municipality in the region’s MS4 Urban Area, has had a MS4 permit waiver since 2003.
NPDES MS4 permits are generally issued for 5 years unless extended by PaDEP. The original permits in 2003 were developed by PaDEP to allow the municipality to discover what stormwater facilities may have existed in their jurisdictions and develop their programs over time during the first permit cycle. In 2013 and 2014 the permits increased in the level of complexity and documentation required for each of the six MCMs. Additionally, the new permits included provisions for MS4s with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) or located within the Chesapeake Bay. A TMDL is the calculated maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet its water quality standards.
The original six (6) MS4 partners new permits all became effective on July 1, 2020. In addition to the original six MCMs, the current MS4 permits can have requirements for water impaired for metals (Appendix A), waters impaired for pathogens (Appendix B), waters impaired for priority organic compounds (Appendix C), waters located within the Chesapeak Bay (Appendix D), waters impaired for nutrients and/or sediment (Appendix E), and/or waters with a defined TMDL (Appendix F). In the Spring Creek watershed area of the MS4 partners, only Appendices D and E apply and are within the permits.
The MS4 partners jointly developed a comprehensive Centre Region MS4 Partners Pollutant Reduction Plan (PRP) that addresses the required Chesapeake Bay and impaired waters for nutrient and/or sediment requirements in the Spring Creek and Spruce Creek Watersheds. Because of the complexity and nuisances of the MS4 permit and its requirements, anyone proposing to reference or propose coordination with the MS4s is strongly urged to first contact your municipalities MS4 representative. A copy of the MS4 six (6) Partners PRP can be found here. Spring Township’s Chesapeake Bay Pollutant Reduction Plan can be found here.
The MS4 partners have identical MS4 permits. A copy of the complete permit can be found here.
Each MS4 Partner is required to develop its own programs; however, the Partners work cooperatively together on MCMs 1, 2, and 6 in addition to keeping stormwater ordinances similar for uniformity within the region. Additional information about the MS4 permit and program can be found on the partner’s website which can be found in the links section.
One of the most important MCMs is related to public education, outreach and municipal operations are illicit discharges. For more information about what Illicit Discharges are, please see the following presentation.
The acronym MS4 is short for a “Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.” From a practical perspective, it implies that a municipality, or municipal like entity, has a stormwater permit and is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to develop and implement a stormwater management program to reduce the contamination of stormwater runoff and prohibit illicit discharges. The program must include six minimum control measures (MCMs) related to stormwater runoff; 1) Public Education and Outreach, 2) Public Involvement and Participation, 3) Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination, 4) Construction Site Runoff Control, 5) Post Construction Stormwater Management, and 6) Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping. Additional Information on these six MCMs can be found below under "permit requirements".
HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM
Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), from which it is often discharged untreated into local water bodies. To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into an MS4, operators must obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and develop a stormwater management program.
Phase I of the MS4 Program, issued in 1990, required medium and large cities or certain counties with populations of 100,000 or more to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. Phase II, issued in 1999, required regulated small MS4s in urbanized areas, as well as small MS4s outside the urbanized areas that are designated by the permitting authority (PaDEP in Pennsylvania), to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. The original six (6) MS4 Partners fell under the Phase II program and received their first permits from PaDEP in 2003. Spring Township, the seventh partner in the Centre County MS4 program, received its initial permit in April 2019. Benner Township, the only other municipality in the region’s MS4 Urban Area, has had a MS4 permit waiver since 2003.
NPDES MS4 permits are generally issued for 5 years unless extended by PaDEP. The original permits in 2003 were developed by PaDEP to allow the municipality to discover what stormwater facilities may have existed in their jurisdictions and develop their programs over time during the first permit cycle. In 2013 and 2014 the permits increased in the level of complexity and documentation required for each of the six MCMs. Additionally, the new permits included provisions for MS4s with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) or located within the Chesapeake Bay. A TMDL is the calculated maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet its water quality standards.
The original six (6) MS4 partners new permits all became effective on July 1, 2020. In addition to the original six MCMs, the current MS4 permits can have requirements for water impaired for metals (Appendix A), waters impaired for pathogens (Appendix B), waters impaired for priority organic compounds (Appendix C), waters located within the Chesapeak Bay (Appendix D), waters impaired for nutrients and/or sediment (Appendix E), and/or waters with a defined TMDL (Appendix F). In the Spring Creek watershed area of the MS4 partners, only Appendices D and E apply and are within the permits.
The MS4 partners jointly developed a comprehensive Centre Region MS4 Partners Pollutant Reduction Plan (PRP) that addresses the required Chesapeake Bay and impaired waters for nutrient and/or sediment requirements in the Spring Creek and Spruce Creek Watersheds. Because of the complexity and nuisances of the MS4 permit and its requirements, anyone proposing to reference or propose coordination with the MS4s is strongly urged to first contact your municipalities MS4 representative. A copy of the MS4 six (6) Partners PRP can be found here. Spring Township’s Chesapeake Bay Pollutant Reduction Plan can be found here.
The MS4 partners have identical MS4 permits. A copy of the complete permit can be found here.
Each MS4 Partner is required to develop its own programs; however, the Partners work cooperatively together on MCMs 1, 2, and 6 in addition to keeping stormwater ordinances similar for uniformity within the region. Additional information about the MS4 permit and program can be found on the partner’s website which can be found in the links section.
One of the most important MCMs is related to public education, outreach and municipal operations are illicit discharges. For more information about what Illicit Discharges are, please see the following presentation.
MS4 PARTNER PERMIT NUMBERS
College Township – PAI134803
Ferguson Township – PAI134805
Harris Township – PAI134801
Patton Township – PAI134802
Penn State – PAI134807
State College Borough – PAI134804
Spring Township – PAI134810
College Township – PAI134803
Ferguson Township – PAI134805
Harris Township – PAI134801
Patton Township – PAI134802
Penn State – PAI134807
State College Borough – PAI134804
Spring Township – PAI134810
