Montgomery County MS4 Program Support

A comprehensive strategy crafted around a new Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Permit helps one of the most populous counties of the National Capital Region become a water quality leader.

In 2010, Montgomery County, Maryland, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay, was issued one of the most stringent Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits in the nation. The five-year permit complies with the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations requiring large, urban jurisdictions to control pollution from stormwater runoff to the maximum extent practicable. In a joint partnership with Brown and Caldwell, Biohabitats led a team of stormwater and marketing consultants to assist the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to refine an implementation framework for the MS4 Permit.

The Permit requires development of a Countywide Coordinated Implementation Strategy (CCIS) to meet watershed restoration goals and water quality standards. It also requires the County to evaluate its codes, regulations, standards, policies, and planning process, and develop recommendations to implement Environmental Site Design (ESD) to the maximum extent practicable. Biohabitats was lead consultant and co-author with DEP staff of the County’s CCIS. This strategy emphasizes fixing damaged streams, improving water quality, and addressing historical damage caused by urban stormwater pollution.

Having provided the County with more than a decade of related services Biohabitats brought a deep understanding to the MS4 Management contract. Biohabitats’ work for this contract has included refining the design process and oversight of eight water resources engineering firms, separately contracted with the County; implementing assessments of five watersheds to identify and prioritize MS4 project opportunities; developing a business management dashboard to track progress of key program performance indicators; supporting Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination efforts; and developing a framework for refining GIS-based storm drain delineations throughout the County.

TAGS

• Analysis+Planning
• Assessment+Monitoring
• Design
• Ecological Restoration