Commonly Asked Questions & Answers for MunicipalitiesWhat is the stormwater program? What is a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) and do I need a permit? Do I need to get a stormwater permit? What types of activities are covered? My municipal activities all drain into my storm sewer system. Do I still need this permit? I already have permit coverage for all facilities that need it. Do I have to do anything else? Is there a fee for the permit? What if my municipality doesn't comply? Where can I get some assistance in preparing my SWMP and application? What is the Stormwater Program? The stormwater program was authorized by the federal Clean Water Act. This is a program that is meant reduce the amount of pollutants entering lakes, streams, and rivers as a result of runoff from industrial facilities, construction sites, and urban areas. The regulations are administered by the use of permits, which authorize the discharge of stormwater to waters of the state. The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has been the permitting authority for the Stormwater Program within the State of South Dakota since December 1993, and has adopted the federal stormwater regulations, by reference, into the Administrative Rules of South Dakota (ARSD) Chapters 74:52:01 through 74:52:11. What is a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) and do I need a permit? Phase I of the federal stormwater program began on October 1, 1992. Many industrial and construction activities operated by municipalities (including cities, counties, special districts, etc.) with populations over 100,000 were required to obtain a storm water discharge permit. This permit requires the city to develop a program to minimize the pollutants entering waterways through its municipal separate storm sewer system (commonly called an "MS4"). Phase II of the stormwater program went into effect in March 2003. At that point, municipalities with populations over 10,000 were required to obtain a stormwater discharge permit. Do I need to get a stormwater permit? Industrial and construction sites where activities come into contact with stormwater must be covered by one of the State's stormwater discharge permits. Industrial activities required to be permitted include most manufacturers, mining (including sand/gravel mining operations), transportation facilities (e.g. vehicle maintenance shops), power plants, airports, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and recyclers. Construction projects that disturb one acre or more of land, or are part of a larger plan, also must be covered by a permit. What types of activities are covered? Typical municipally-owned "industrial activities" that will require State permit coverage include (but are not limited to):
My municipality is required to get stormwater permit coverage for discharges from our MS4. How does the permitting for my industrial activities and construction projects fit in with the MS4 permit? Industrial Sites: The programs should mesh well together. Discharges from a municipal industrial activity covered under an industrial stormwater permit will not need to be addressed under the MS4 permit. The MS4 permit requires stormwater controls for streets, roads, highways, municipal parking lots, maintenance and storage yards, fleet or maintenance shops with outdoor storage areas, salt/sand storage locations and snow disposal areas operated by the permittee, and waste transfer stations, and from activities such as park and open space maintenance, fleet and building maintenance, street maintenance, new construction of municipal facilities, and stormwater system maintenance. However, if you already have coverage for such sites under an industrial permit, then you do not need to address that site under your MS4 permit. (If an industrial facility seems to fit under both, then the default would be coverage under the industrial permit.) See Question #4 for a list of facilities needing industrial permit coverage Construction: If a construction project for a municipality disturbs at least one acre of ground, then a construction permit from DENR is needed. In addition, the construction project must meet the same requirements as a private construction project. The project will have to go through review and inspection process, as developed under the municipality's MS4 permit. My municipal activities all drain into my storm sewer system. Do I still need this permit? Yes. The vast majority of storm sewers drain into waters of the State (see Definitions, Item #17). I already have permit coverage for all facilities that need it. Do I have to do anything else? No. However, please review the list of covered facilities in Appendix A to ensure that you do have complete coverage. My municipality is/will be hiring a contractor for a construction project. Can the contractor apply for the permit instead of us? Yes. The permit may be issued to any party willing to take responsibility for the quality of the stormwater runoff from the site and has operational control over development and implementation of the stormwater pollution prevention plan, including the owner, contractor, or developer. Specific information on the permit requirements is available in the permit itself. Information is also available within guidance documents developed for the stormwater program and its parts. In general, the requirements include:
Copies of the general stormwater permits, applications, and guidance on preparing a SWMP are available on the DENR's webpage, or by contacting DENR at 1-800-SDSTORM (1-800-737-8676). The application must be submitted at least 15 days prior to beginning operations. Can I cover all my facilities under one permit certification, or do I need to apply for each one separately? In general, you must apply separately for each facility.
Is there a fee for the permit? No. At this time, DENR does not charge a fee for coverage under the general stormwater permit(s). What if my municipality doesn't comply? Stormwater discharges that are not covered under the appropriate general permit as required constitutes a violation of the South Dakota Water Pollution Control Act and the federal Clean Water Act. Discharges that are not in compliance with permit conditions are also in violation of the South Dakota Water Pollution Control Act and the federal Clean Water Act. These violations are grounds for enforcement action; for permit termination, revocation and reissuance, or modification; or for denial of a permit renewal. Enforcement can include penalties of up to $10,000 per day per violation. Where can I get some assistance in preparing my SWMP and application? DENR anticipates that the potential sources of stormwater pollution at most municipal facilities will be relatively straightforward. The stormwater permit requirements are designed with a common-sense approach, so it is quite likely that you will not need any outside assistance in preparing the SWMP and completing the application. Also, there are a number of reference materials available that might be useful. If you are in need of further assistance, you may wish to consult with a neighboring municipality, or hire a consultant. Guidance documents on preparing the pollution prevention are available from DENR. You contact DENR at 1-800-SDSTORM (1-800-737-8676), although due to limited resources and an expected heavy volume of calls, we can only offer limited assistance. BMPs: Best Management Practices - physical, structural, and/or managerial practices that, when used singly or in combination, prevent or reduce pollution of stormwater. Construction (requiring permit coverage): construction activity, including clearing, grading and excavation, that results in the disturbance of one or more acres of total land area. Construction activity also includes the disturbance of less than one acre of total land area that is a part of a larger common plan of development or sale, if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb one acre or more. Construction activity does not include routine maintenance that is performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic capacity, or original purpose of the facility. MS4: a municipal separate storm sewer system. Municipality: a city, town, county, district, sanitary district, or other public body created by or under state law with jurisdiction over the disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes. NPDES: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System - Section 402 of the federal Clean Water Act. SWPPP: Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan - required under the general industrial and construction stormwater permits. The purpose of a SWPPP is to identify possible pollutant sources to stormwater and to set out BMPs that, when implemented, will reduce or eliminate any possible water quality impacts. A SWPPP shall be developed for each facility covered by the stormwater program. The plan shall identify potential sources of pollution that may reasonably be expected to affect the quality of stormwater discharges associated with industrial or construction activity from the site. In addition, the plan shall describe and ensure the implementation of practices which are to be used to reduce the pollutants in stormwater discharges at the site and to assure compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit. Waters of the State: all waters within the jurisdiction of this state, including all streams, lakes, ponds, impounding reservoirs, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or artificial, public or private, situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon the state, but not waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons. INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES THAT ARE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN STORMWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code or codes for the facility usually determines permit coverage. SIC Codes are assigned according to the primary activities performed by a company. They are often assigned for insurance purposes or when a business registers as a corporation. Industries can also determine their SIC Code by checking with their trade association, Chamber of Commerce, legal counsel, or library for the SIC Manual. The industries are listed here by their SIC Code. The manufacturing industries are generally represented by SIC Codes 20-39. (A two digit code, such as 42, means that all industries under that heading, from 4200 to 4299, are covered. Some common SIC codes are listed in italics.) |
| SIC Code | Industry Type |
| 10 | Metal mining and milling |
| 1041 | Gold Ores |
| 12 | Coal mining |
| 13 | Oil and gas extraction |
| 14 | Mining and quarrying of nonmetallic minerals except fuels |
| 1422 | Crushed & Broken Limestone |
| 1442 | Construction Sand & Gravel |
| 20 | Food and kindred products |
| 2041 | Flour and Other Grain Mill Products |
| 2048 | Prepared feed and feed ingredients for animals & fouls, except cats & dogs |
| 21 | Tobacco products |
| 22 | Textile mills |
| 23 | Apparel and other finished products made from fabric and similar material |
| 24 | Lumber and wood products except furniture |
| 2421 | Sawmills & Planing Mills |
| 2491 | Wood Preserving |
| 25 | Furniture and fixtures |
| 26 | Paper and allied products |
| 27 | Printing, publishing, and allied products |
| 28 | Chemicals and allied products |
| 29 | Petroleum refining and related industries |
| 2951 | Asphalt Paving Mixtures and Blocks |
| 30 | Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products |
| 31 | Leather Products (except) |
| 311 | Leather tanning and finishing |
| 32 | Stone, clay, glass and concrete products (except) |
| 3273 | Ready-mix concrete facilities |
| 33 | Primary metals industries |
| 34 | Fabrication of metal products, except machinery and transportation equipment |
| 35 | Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment |
| 36 | Electronic & other electrical equipment & components, except computer equipment |
| 37 | Transportation equipment |
| 3715 | Truck Trailers |
| 38 | Measuring, analyzing, & controlling instruments: photographic, medical, & optical goods, watches & clocks |
| 39 | Miscellaneous manufacturing industries |
| 40 | Railroad transportation (a) |
| 41 | Local and suburban transit and interurban highway passenger transportation (a) |
| 42 | Motor freight transportation and warehousing (except) (a) |
| 4221 | Farm Product warehousing and storage |
| 4222 | Refrigerated warehousing and storage |
| 4225 | General warehousing and storage |
| 43 | US Postal Facilities (a) |
| 44 | Water Transportation (a) |
| 45 | Transportation by Air (a) |
| 4911 | Steam electric power generation (all fuel types) |
| 4952 | Wastewater treatment facilities with a design flow of 1.0 MGD or more |
| 4953 | Hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facilities; incinerators (including boilers and industrial furnaces) that burn hazardous waste; and active or inactive landfills, land application sites, or open dumps with industrial waste and without a stabilized final cover |
| 5015 | Motor vehicle parts, used |
| 5093 | Scrap and waste materials |
| 5171 | Petroleum bulk stations and terminals |
Notes: (a) In this SIC Code, only facilities that are involved in vehicle maintenance (such as vehicle rehabilitation, mechanical repairs, painting, fueling, and lubrication), equipment cleaning operations, or airport deicing need a stormwater permit.