Stormwater Permit Renewal Update

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,; ~~~4 ~..~ ,; ~~' ~ State of Oregon ~` ~~ Department of Environmental Quality Memorandum From: Greg Geist Date: 7/30/08 Subject: Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit Renewal Update DEQ has been meeting regularly with the ACWA Phase I permit renewal group and we are fast approaching the time for permit writing and negotiations. DEQ identified a number of "discussion topics" in the permit renewal workplan and we have been steadily.working through them with the ACWA group. By identifying the substantive permitting issues and DEQ's expectations, the permittees were given the opportunity to address them prior to submitting their renewal applications in August 2008. The approach was intended to make DEQ's expectations clear and allow the permittees to submi# permit renewal applications fhat meet DEQ's expectations; thereby minimizing the need for DEQ to address "deficiencies° via MS4 pe~mit conditions. While DEQ has worked through many of the following substantive permit issues with the permittees over the past months of discussions, we have not provided them with DEQ's expectations for specific pertormance standards related to stormwater quality and quantity, nor have we discussed the Stormwater Retrofit and Hydromodification assessments described below. Taken together, the substantive permit conditions discussed below represent a significant change from the approach used in the previous per.mits. In part, this is because EPA has established in various rulemaking preambles the proposition that the first finro iterations of the Phase I permits were supposed to be about gathering information and experimenting with various practices to ~ control discharges. EPA indicated it would view these activities and requirements as meeting the ~~__: Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP) standard. However, EPA expects that third generation permits will start having measurable, enforceable perFormance standards. Since DEQ.is now working on the third generation of the Phase I permits, the expectation is that in order to be defensible, they will need to evolve to some level of mandatory or performance based-practices.' Finally, the current permits are poorly organized and difficult to understand. In addition to the substantive permit requirements discussed below; DEQ will strive to create a well-organized, readable permit using "plain language" wherever possible. A working draft is in progress. Stormwater Qualitv Treatment ReQUirements The current permits do not include water quality pertormance standards that must be applied when new development or significant redevelopment occurs. Rather, the permits contain an implicit requirement where the permittees are r~equired to report on their progress in developing, implementing and enforcing a plan to "address" pollutants in stormwater discharges. Further, because stormwater treatment facilities are not held to any long-term perFormance criteria, in some cases there may be very little incentive for long-term maintenance, except for aesthetic purposes (See long-term maintenance discussion, below). Unlike many other states, Oregon has not established expectations for the amount of stormwater (water quality design storm) to be treated or water quality or quantity treatment standards that would apply when new or re- development occurs. Oregon's Phase I communities have developed water qualiry design storms and treatment requirements that vary from one jurisdiction to another. Some municipalities have stringent water-quality related requirements and some do not: Given this disparity and the expectation that explicit performance standards are appropriate and necessary for the third t=_ -p- ~ ' Correspondence with DOJ counsel. 1