What is Stormwater?
Stormwater is the runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops during rainfall events. It often contains pollutants such as nutrients, bacteria, sediment, and metals that could adversely affect water quality.
What is Being Done About Stormwater Runoff?
Federal, state, and local governments are implementing programs throughout the United States that they hope will reduce the adverse effects of stormwater on water quality Through these efforts they hope to improve the general health of water bodies.
The Federal Program
Phases of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Stormwater Program
The U.S. EPA developed amendments to the Clean Water Act in 1987 to address stormwater. These changes were implemented in two phases.
Phase I: Began in 1990. Phase I applies to sources of stormwater with the greatest potential for negative impact. These include medium and large municipal storm sewer systems and construction sites disturbing five or more acres. Industrial activities are also included in this phase
Phase II: Began in 1999. Phase II applies to small municipal separate storm sewer systems and construction sites disturbing one to five acres.
What Types of Activities Require Stormwater Permits?
Stormwater regulation and management is broken into several categories all of which require National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
Construction activities
Construction sites disturbing on acre or more must obtain permission to discharge stormwater under and NPDES construction stormwater permit. These activities are also covered in Georgia’s Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act.
Municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s)
When land is developed, most communities install a series of storm drains, ditches, and pipes to collect rainfall and runoff and transport it to streams or rivers. These are called municipal separate storm sewer systems. Medium and large (100,00 people or more) MS4 city or county governments are required to submit comprehensive permit applications and are issued individual permits. Regulated, small MS4 operators are covered by a general permit or by individual permits.
Industrial activities
Operators of industrial facilities that discharge stormwater to a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) or directly to water of the United States require authorization under an NPDES industrial stormwater permit.
Georgia’s Stormwater Program
Phase I: Industrial and construction stormwater permits continue to be issued on a case by case basis. Permits for medium MS4’s were issued in April and May 1995 (Augusta, Savannah, Columbus) and permits for large MS4’s (Atlanta and surrounding large suburbs) were issued in June 1994 and reissued in June 1999.
Phase II: Construction stormwater permits continue to be issued on a case-by-case basis. The Phase II permitting process for small MS4s began in May 2003. These permits outline specific requirements that must be met for various activities. A list of these requirements can be found on the EPD’s website.
Does the Phase II Stormwater Program apply to your community?
The following is the 2020 revised list of counties and cities in the Phase II Stormwater Program; the list of Department of Defense facilities is from 2011.
Counties (A–H)
- Athens-Clarke
- Barrow
- Bartow
- Carroll
- Catoosa
- Cherokee
- Columbia
- Coweta
- Dawson
- Dougherty
- Douglas
- Effingham
- Fayette
- Floyd
- Glynn
- Hall
- Henry
- Houston
Counties (J–Z)
- Jackson
- Jones
- Lee
- Liberty
- Long
- Lowndes
- Madison
- Murray
- Newton
- Oconee
- Paulding
- Peach
- Rockdale
- Spalding
- Walker
- Walton
- Whitfield
Cities (A–E)
- Albany (Dougherty)
- Allenhurst (Liberty)
- Auburn (Barrow)
- Bogart (Oconee)
- Braselton (Jackson)
- Brookhaven (DeKalb)
- Brunswick (Glynn)
- Byron (Peach)
- Canton (Cherokee)
- Cartersville (Bartow)
- Centerville (Houston)
- Chatsworth (Murray)
- Chickamauga (Walker)
- Conyers (Rockdale)
- Cordele (Crisp)
- Covington (Newton)
- Cumming (Forsyth)
- Dallas (Paulding)
- Dalton (Whitfield)
- Douglasville–Douglas Co. Water and Sewer Authority
- Dunwoody (DeKalb)
- Emerson (Bartow)
- Eton (Murray)
- Euharlee (Bartow)
Cities (F–O)
- Fayetteville (Fayette)
- Flemington (Liberty)
- Flowery Branch (Hall)
- Fort Oglethorpe (Catoosa)
- Gainesville (Hall)
- Griffin (Spalding)
- Grovetown (Columbia)
- Hahira (Lowndes)
- Hampton (Henry)
- Hephzibah (Richmond)
- Hinesville (Liberty)
- Hiram (Paulding)
- Holly Springs (Cherokee)
- Hoschton (Jackson)
- Johns Creek (Fulton)
- Leesburg (Lee)
- Locust Grove (Henry)
- Loganville (Walton)
- Lookout Mountain (Walker)
- McDonough (Henry)
- Milton (Fulton)
- Mountain Park (Fulton)
- Newnan (Coweta)
- Oakwood (Hall)
- Oxford (Newton)
Cities (P–Z)
- Peachtree City (Fayette)
- Peachtree Corners (Gwinnett)
- Perry (Houston)
- Porterdale (Newton)
- Remerton (Lowndes)
- Richmond Hill (Bryan)
- Ringgold (Catoosa)
- Rome (Floyd)
- Rossville (Walker)
- Sandy Springs (Fulton)
- Senoia (Coweta)
- South Fulton (Fulton)
- Stockbridge (Henry)
- Temple (Carroll)
- Tunnel Hill (Whitfield)
- Tyrone (Fayette)
- Valdosta (Lowndes)
- Varnell (Whitfield)
- Villa Rica (Carroll)
- Walnut Grove (Walton)
- Walthourville (Liberty)
- Warner Robins (Houston)
- Watkinsville (Oconee)
- Winterville (Clarke)
- Woodstock (Cherokee)
Department of Defense and Other Facilities
- GDOT
- Ft. Eisenhower
- Ft. Moore
- Ft. Stewart
- Gillem Enclave
- Hunter AFB
- Robins AFB
What are the Steps to Obtaining a Phase II Permit?
The city or county government of an applicable MS4 must submit a stormwater management plan to the Georgia EPD as an application for their permit. The plan must include:
- Goals for the development of public education, outreach, and public involvement programs
- Maps, BMPs, educational tools, and goals for detecting and eliminating illicit discharges
- Erosion and sedimentation control measures, site inspection and enforcement procedures, information sharing, BMPs and goals for controlling construction site runoff
- Implementation strategies for BMP’s, operation and maintenance, ordinances, and goals for post-construction runoff control
- Pollution prevention attributes such as operation and maintenance controls to reduce runoff to storm sewers, employee training, and BMPs
The Phase II Stormwater Program should be completely implemented by the end of the permit term, which is usually 5 years.
Stormwater management plans must:
- Reduce pollutants discharged in stormwater to the Maximum Extent Possible (MEP)
- Protect water quality
- Reduce volume of stormwater
- Satisfy water quality requirements of the Clean Water Act
Evaluating and Reporting Efforts
Efforts to manage stormwater through state mandated stormwater permitting must be reported to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. These reports should be generated annually for the first permit term (usually 5 years) and in years 2 and 4 for subsequent permit terms, unless otherwise indicated by the Georgia EPD. The reports should include the status of compliance with permit conditions (goals), results of any monitoring, a summary of planned stormwater activities, and changes in BMP’s or goals. The report should also indicate if the MS4 relies on another governmental entity to satisfy permit obligations.
Local Stormwater Programs
What Can You do to Help Prevent Stormwater Pollution?
Follow local guidelines for:
- fertilizer and pesticide application
- clipping and leaf disposal
- household hazardous waste management (paint, solvents, cleaners)
- automotive care and used motor oil disposal
- pet waste
- septic tank maintenance
Get involved in:
- local stream monitoring
- stream cleanups
- adopt-a-stream programs
- tree planting days
- storm drain stenciling
How are Local Stormwater Programs Funded?
- Local funding
- Stormwater utilities (utilities that charge a monthly fee based on the amount of impervious surface on commercial, industrial and residential properties)
- 319 Grants (federal funding for nonpoint source management programs)
Rural Area Stormwater Management Plans
There are some small, rural towns in Georgia who do not fall under either phase of Georgia’s stormwater permitting program. These towns, however, do have to follow NPDES permits for their municipal wastewater treatment systems.
In accordance with their NPDES permit, all towns operating a municipal wastewater treatment system must conduct watershed assessments, which predict effects of development on water quality, and they must recommend management options to alleviate those effects.
Although the majority of small towns have little impervious area, stormwater management plans are highly recommended as a component of watershed management. Not only will they help communities manage stormwater, but the development of stormwater management plans also gives small towns a jump on inevitable stormwater regulations. The pictures below show structural stormwater controls that can be utilized by large and small cities alike.
Contacts and More Information
ARC’s Georgia Stormwater Management Manual
https://atlantaregional.org/what-we-do/natural-resources/georgia-stormwater-management-manual
Your County Extension Agent
https://extension.uga.edu/county-offices.html
1-800-ASK-UGA1 (directs you to the UGA Extension office in the county where your phone is registered)
Georgia EPD
404-463-1511
http://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch
Georgia’s Regional Commissions
Northwest Georgia Regional Commission: http://www.nwgrc.org
Georgia Mountains Regional Commission: http://www.gmrc.ga.gov
Atlanta Regional Commission: https://atlantaregional.org/
Three Rivers Regional Commission: http://www.threeriversrc.org
Northeast Georgia Regional Commission: http://www.negrc.org
Middle Georgia Regional Commission: http://www.middlegeorgiarc.org
Central Savannah River Area Regional Commission: http://csrarc.ga.gov
River Valley Regional Commission: http://www.rivervalleyrc.org
Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission: http://www.hogarc.org
Southwest Georgia Regional Commission: http://www.swgrc.org
Southern Georgia Regional Commission: http://www.sgrc.us
Coastal Regional Commission: https://www.coastalrc.ga.gov/
Federal Program
https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-stormwater-program
State Program
https://waterplanning.georgia.gov
