Minnesota Water Resources Conference - Water Resources Center ...

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Tuesday, October 28
Concurrent Sessions IV 10:00–11:30
Track C: Policy and Permitting
Wetland Conservation Act Rulemaking Process, Anticipated Changes, and Relationship to the Corps
Mitigation Rule
Les Lemm, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, les.lemm@state.mn.us
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources is currently in the process of revising the permanent Wetland
Conservation Act Rule. The purpose of the rulemaking is to address recent statute changes, changes made in
the recent “exempt” rulemaking process, issues identified in the BWSR/Corps of Engineers MOU, and other
issues identified by BWSR staff and stakeholders. The effective deadline for adoption of the permanent rule is
August 5, 2009; the date the exempt rule expires. Many issues have been discussed and explored thus far in the
permanent rulemaking process. The Corps/EPA mitigation rule was also released during WCA rulemaking.
This presentation will discuss the process used to develop the rules and where the rule is at in that process,
major issues and comments received, anticipated rule changes, and the relationship to the Corps of Engineers
mitigation rule.
New Changes to the NPDES General Permit for Construction Activity
Todd Smith, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, todd.smith@pca.state.mn.us
All construction activity over one acre requires an NPDES construction stormwater general permit issued by
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Stormwater discharges from land in which the vegetation
has been removed can result in erosion rates up to 100 times more than natural conditions. The NPDES
construction permit requires Best Management Practices to prevent erosion and control sediment during
construction in addition to providing post construction stormwater treatment systems. On August 1, 2008
the permit was reissued with several changes. This presentation will highlight the major changes to the
permit in addition to an overview of the process involved with the issuance of a general permit. The revised
permit includes a new process for transferring a permit, discharges to impaired waters, new soil stabilization
requirements and training requirements for different individuals with a role in this program.
What Makes a Good TMDL Implementation Plan for Permitted MS4 Stormwater
Michael Trojan, Minnesota Pollution Agency, mike.trojan@pca.state.mn.us; Jeff Risberg, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency;
Anna Kerr, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Brooke Asleson, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Chris Zadak, Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency
Meeting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements can be a challenging and expensive task for
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities. TMDL Implementation Plans offer an opportunity
for linking MS4 permit requirements to specific actions that meet the TMDL Wasteload Allocation (WLA). An
effective Implementation Plan should contain information on four broad topics:
1. a summary of the TMDL requirements;
2. a stormwater management strategy, including information on Best Management Practices (BMPs);
3. a discussion of how progress toward the TMDL will be measured and tracked; and
4. a general compliance schedule for achieving the TMDL.
Recently completed MPCA guidance provides a detailed discussion of these four topics, as well as an overview
of the relationship between the TMDL Implementation Plan and MS4 permit requirements. Implementation of
the guidance will prove a valuable tool for permittees as they attempt to meet TMDL requirements through the
MS4 permit.
63 Minnesota Water Resources Conference, October 27–28, 2008