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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />COl INniL MEETING <br />JAN 2 6 2004 <br />DATE: SftST'O <br />ITEM NO.: 2. <br />Department Approval: <br />Naaie Gregory A. Gappa <br />Title Director of Public Services <br />Administrator Reviewed: Agenda Section: <br />^ Public Services Director ’s Report <br />Item Description: NPDES Storm Watei'-Permit Annual Meeting <br />Introduction <br />In May 2003 the City applied for a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) <br />Storm Water permit, and one of the requirements of this permit is that the City must hold an annual <br />meeting to obtain public comments on this permit and the activities associated with this permit. <br />Background information on the NPDES storm water program and dr -'elopment of the pennit <br />application is provided below. <br />Federal legislation in the Clean Water Act requires that all states implement a program to require a. <br />(NPDES) permit for storm water discharges. The original NPDES program, v^ich started in the <br />1960's in response to water pollution problems, required NPDES permits for all point source <br />discharges such as industrial sites and waste water treatment plants. After the point source water <br />pollution problems were corrected, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to regulate <br />non-point sources of water pollution caused by storm water runoff as storm water runoff is a <br />significant source of water pollution. The responsibility for administration of this NPDES program <br />was transferred to the states for permitting and administration. Phase 1 of the storm water program <br />required permits for large cities. In Minnesota, the only two cities with Phase I permits are <br />Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Phase II regulations expanded the permitting requirements to smaller <br />cities. The medium size cities in greater Minnesota and all of the suburban cities in the metropolitan <br />area are now required to have a NPDES Phase II Storm Water Permit. This permit requires lliat the <br />City develop a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) which includes a set of Best <br />Management Practices (BMPs) describing the City’s program for storm water runoff control. <br />Page 1 of 5 <br />1 <br />i