Memo - NPDES Phase II permits
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Hopkins Public Works Department
Memorandum
TO: MayoI; and City council
FROM: John M. Anderson P.E., Assistant City Engineer
DATE: February 6, 2003
'SUBJECT: NPDES Phase II Permit requirements
Attached is some very general information describing the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) phase II permit program the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency (MPCA) will be administering. The permit deadline is March 10, 2003. The
Engineering Department has been working to prepare a permit for the City of Hopkins.
As you may recall the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) organized an effort to assist
cities in preparation of the permit and asked for participating cities to contribute $5000
each to the effort. The City of Hopkins along with nearly 100 other cities joined forces
with the LMC and through that effort produced a Guide Plan to use as a, reference in
completing the permit. The participation was greater than initially expected and the cost
per city was reduced by $2000 which the LMC returned to the participating cities.
We are now working with the LMC Guide Plan as a reference to complete the permit. We
expect to have a finalized permit in front of the City Council at their March 4, 2003
meeting for approval and then submit on time to the MPCA by March 10,20'03.
City staff is working in cooperation with other agencies to account for and document
their efforts. For example Nine Mile Creek Watershed District may have an
informational mailing they send out to Hopkins residents. ' The mailing is a way of
reducing storm water pollution in Hopkins therefore it can be listed in Hopkins permit
with the watershed as the responsible party.
The impacts of the permit are significant. The permit is a list of measurable goals that the
city will accomplish through out the 5 year permit period to address storm water quality.
Examples of this are things such as street sweeping, treatment pond maintenance, public
awareness programs, and installation of water quality treatment equipment. MPCA will
hold the City accountable for accomplishing the go~ls listed in the permit. There 'will be
an ongoing effort by City staff to document the progress in accomplishing those goals
and this documentation needs to be submitted to the MPCA on an annual basis. The
process of documenting the City's progress in itself is a time consuming process. The
LMC sponsored a seminar showcasing AS 1ST, a software package written specifically
for this permit and the required documentation. Again the LMC is working to facilitate a
program in which cities can join forces to take advantage of a volume discount~ The list
price for the ASIST software is $6000, the vendor has offered to reduce this to $5000
through the end of February and depending on the volllme purchased additional redllction
may also apply. I recommend the city of Hopkins purchase this software and utilize it to
complete the final documentation of the permit and use it to begin the required
documentation process in March.
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