Challenges, Constraints and Opportunities Associated with the Development of a NPDES Watershed-Based Stormwater Permit in the Middle Rio Grande Area By Molly Blumhoefer 

Introduction

Milwaukee Metro Watershed, WI Ramsey Washington Watershed District, MN

Middle Rio Grande Watershed District, NM

•2006 – EPA commissioned National Research Council to review the national stormwater program

•2008- the NRC report recommended the nation revise its stormwater management program to ensure that it meets the criteria set forth in the Clean Water Act (CWA)

•2010- the EPA initiated three pilot projects to assess the practicability of issuing watershed-based Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4) permits for urbanized areas

EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000

Class A: City of Albuquerque AMAFCA (Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control) UNM (University of New Mexico) NMDOT (New Mexico Department of Transportation District 3) Class B: Bernalillo County Sandoval County Village of Corrales City of Rio Rancho Los Ranchos de Albuquerque KAFB (Kirtland Air Force Base) Town of Bernalillo EXPO (State Fairgrounds/Expo NM) SSCAFCA (Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority) Class C: ESCAFCA (Eastern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority) Sandia Labs (DOE) Class D: Pueblo of Sandia Pueblo of Isleta Pueblo of Santa Ana

Possible Permittees & Classifications under new Watershed-Based Permit

-EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000

Challenges to a watershed based permit in the MRG region

•The Middle Rio Grande region of New Mexico has political, cultural, geographic and climatic characteristics that are unlike any other urban areas in the country

•Low Impact Development (LID) options for stormwater management may be fewer for the MRG

• New Mexico is one of the only states without NPDES primacy

•There hydrologic and legislative obstacles unique to the region, and to each entity

• Some POCs occur naturally as background contaminants

• EPA Region 6 (Dallas, TX)

Background

Minimum Control Measures

1. Public education and outreach

2. Public participation/involvement

3. Illicit discharge detection and elimination

4. Construction site runoff control

5. Post-construction runoff control

6. Pollution prevention/good housekeeping

Stencils created and painted

by Tulane University students, Center for Public Service. New Orleans, LA

Discussion and Recommendations

- Development of an equitable method of sharing costs of stormwater quality protection measures is difficult for large watersheds, principally those that encompass many stakeholders and a variety of land-use practices

Darghouth, Gambarelli, Roux, Styger, Ward. (2008). Watershed managementapproaches ,policies, and operations: lessons for scaling up. The world bank,Washington, DC.

-“One of the main attributes of watershed management is the potential to improve the management of externalities resulting from land and water interactions. An externality can be defined as the effect of one party’s actions that impose a cost or benefit on another party, without that cost or benefit being accounted for in the market” (World Bank, 2001).

-Although ‘cost-sharing’ and ‘credit systems’ were the terms stakeholders were comfortable using under the stipulation of resource allocation, a real cost-benefit/social return on investment analysis was yet to be applied for these methods in the watershed.

-A cost-benefit analysis may not be possible until different methods are actually at play

Discussion and Recommendations

• The watershed matrix and associated application process

- It is important that an entity is able to demonstrate their individuality in categories of ‘impact’ and ‘administrative capacity’ and infrastructure

- Impact for the menu based approach for activity implementation

- Administrative capacity and impact combined to show needs for funding

Discussion and Recommendations

Joint-powers scenario

- It is logical that the BMPs are determined by an entity’s impact

- For credit –trading and cost sharing, sectors should be based on geographic proximity

-Under general EPA recommendations for MS4s

“In the case of limited capabilities, the permittee can work with neighboring operators of regulated small MS4s, preferably on a watershed basis, to form a shared stormwater management program in which each permittee is responsible for activities that are within individual legal authorities and abilities” (EPA, 2000)

- A central agency that administers large fund-raising events and processes applications from individual entities on need basis

Small is better…

 "If you do it one small watershed at a time, you still have public support. Small size is the advantage. This replaces Big Brother with Joe down the creek.“

Michael Parfit, "Restoration: New Ideas, New Understanding, New Hope," Water: The Power, Promise and Turmoil of North America's Fresh Water. National Geographic Special Edition at pp. 113-114 (November 1993).

EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000 : Appendix E

Cooperative Monitoring Scenario

EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000: Appendix E

Individual Monitoring Scenario

Questions