For Immediate Release
Friday, June 14, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Town of Marion Working Toward Meeting New Stormwater Management Permit Guidelines

MARION — Town Administrator James McGrail and Department of Public Works Director David Willett are pleased to announce that the town is currently working toward acquiring its state-mandated permit for stormwater management, and recently sent state officials the town’s plan to meet the newest permit requirements ahead of schedule.

In order to discharge stormwater into a waterway in Massachusetts, all cities and towns need a Stormwater Management Program and must obtain a Massachusetts Small MS4 General Permit.

In July 2018, new, more comprehensive guidelines were added to the MS4 permitting process and each town, including Marion, must outline how they plan to meet those guidelines in order obtain the permit.

The six minimum control measures that must be implemented by June 30 are:

• Public Education and Outreach – The permittee shall implement an education program that includes educational goals based on stormwater issues of significance within the MS4 area. The ultimate objective of a public education program is to increase knowledge and change behavior of the public so that the pollutants in stormwater are reduced.
• Public Involvement and Participation – The permittee shall provide opportunities to engage the public to participate in the review and implementation of the permittee’s Stormwater Management Program.
• Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) Program – The permittee shall implement an IDDE program to systematically find and eliminate illicit sources of non-stormwater discharges to its municipal separate storm sewer system and implement procedures to prevent such discharges.
• Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control – The objective of an effective construction stormwater runoff control program is to minimize or eliminate erosion and maintain sediment on site so that it is not transported in stormwater and allowed to discharge to a water of the U.S. through the permittee’s MS4.
• Post Construction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment – The objective of an effective post construction stormwater management program is to reduce the discharge of pollutants found in stormwater to the MS4 through the retention or treatment of stormwater after construction on new or redeveloped sites and to ensure proper maintenance of installed stormwater controls.
• Good Housekeeping and Pollution Prevention for Permittee Owned Operations – The permittee shall implement an operations and maintenance program for permittee-owned operations that has a goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff and protecting water quality from all permittee-owned operations.

Each of the six control measures are in the process of being addressed by the town and residents will be notified of the public outreach and participation initiatives, as well as any capital projects that may be necessary.

DPW Director Willett is overseeing the town’s efforts to obtain the permit, which will include several tasks that will need to be done by the DPW.

“In order to implement and manage the Stormwater Management Program, there will be additional work tasks added to the DPW’s operations,” Director Willett said. “These tasks include the cleaning and inspection of all town catch basins, regular sampling of stormwater outfall and developing a complete Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database of town infrastructure. In addition, there are a variety of capital projects slated for assessment that generally include street improvements and sewer and drainage improvements. All of these things will help us to obtain the permit and be in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.”

Earlier this year, the town sent the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) it’s Notice of Intent, outlining what the town has done so far to obtain the permit and what the town will continue to do to meet the guidelines set forth.

On May 8, the town was notified that its Notice of Intent was approved by the DEP, allowing the DPW to continue to address the necessary compliance measures of the

Stormwater Management Plan.

The town is now working off it’s new Stormwater Management Plan, which had to be approved by the state by June 30 and was done well ahead of the deadline.

“David and all of the folks at the DPW have been working extremely hard to make sure that we are on our way to obtaining the permit and staying in compliance with all laws and regulations along the way,” Town Administrator McGrail said. “This process should have minimal impact, if any, to the everyday lives of our residents and will help to ensure that Marion is doing its part to prevent pollutants from entering our waterways.”

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