Public Review of Stormwater Permits

Introduction

Following the public comment period, the Department prepared a responsiveness summary for the construction activities permit (pdf, 213kb), a responsiveness summary for the MS4 permit (pdf, 250kb), and issued the new permits. Also, the Department scheduled a series of monthly meetings with the commenters on the key issues that were raised during the comment period. The first meeting was held in July 2008 and they will conclude on or before July 2009. Each session will be facilitated by a DEC staff person and will include a brief presentation by NYSDEC on each issue, followed by solicitation of views and information on the positive aspects of existing requirements and opportunities to improve on those requirements. The Department is seeking explicit suggestions for changes to the permits, standards or department processes to address the key issues. Discussion of options will follow solicitation of views and suggestions.

Who May Attend

Participants in the monthly meetings are limited to those who submitted timely comments on the draft general permits for MS4 and construction stormwater activities.

Those interested in attending any of the meetings should contact Barbara Horton at (518) 402-8111 at least one week before the scheduled meeting.

Schedule of Meetings

The meetings are scheduled to be held at:

NYSDEC
Public Assembly Room 129
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233

You can find directions to NYSDEC on our public website.

All meetings are from 10:30 - 3:30, with a break for lunch.

Topic: Other Impaired Waters Issues
Date: March 17, 2009

Topic: Steep Slopes, High Erosion Risk Areas, riparian Buffers
Date: February 10, 2009

Topic: Revisit Issues, as needed.
Date: Possible dates: April 16, 2009; May 13, 2009; June 16, 2009; July 14, 2009

DEC will public notice new draft construction activities and MS4 general permits six months prior to the expiration of the general permits for construction activities and MS4s that were effective May 1, 2008.

More about Public Review of Stormwater Permits:

SW Permit Meeting: Low Impact Development, Green Infrastructure, Smart Growth - Information on the SW Permit meeting for LID, Green Infrastructure and Smart Growth (July 17, 2008)
SW Permit Meeting: Inter-municipal Agreements and Watershed Stormwater Management Programs - Information on the SW Permit meeting for Intra-municipal coordination, inter-municipal agreements, cross jurisdictional regional and watershed stormwater management programs (August 12, 2008)
SW Permit Meeting: Retrofits for Impaired Waters - Information on the SW Permit meeting for Retrofits for Impaired Waters (September 15, 2008)
SW Permit Meeting: Public Participation - Information on the SW Permit meeting for Public Participation (October 23, 2008)
Numeric Effluent Limitations - The discussion will focus on the need for and feasibility of numeric effluent limitations.
Other Impaired Watershed Issues - Stormwater General Permits Topic: Other Impaired Watershed Issues
TMDLs, Retrofits, Effluent Limitation Guidelines - SW Permit Meeting: Public Participation for TMDLs, Retrofits, Effluent Limitation Guidelines