MS4 PROGRAM
What is an MS4?
MS4 stands for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. An MS4 entity owns or operates a system for collecting and conveying stormwater. The purpose of the MS4 program is to maintain and benefit water quality in creeks, streams and waterways by reducing pollutants in stormwater runoff.
MS4 program is an unfunded federal mandate. It is the result of the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA), commonly referred to as the Water Quality Act of 1987. In these amendments, Congress mandated that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) address non-point source pollution associated with stormwater runoff.
In response to the Congressional action, EPA developed the MS4 program to permit the discharge of the stormwater from the MS4s. In essence, EPA defined urban stormwater (previously considered a non-point source) as a point source with numerous physical locations (or points) of discharge.
The MS4s are permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program through either the U.S. EPA or the states; in Indiana, through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). MS4 permits are granted in five-year cycles at the end of which the permit must be renewed.
The Town of Burns Harbor was identified by IDEM as meeting the designation criteria and requirements as a MS4 entity on April 13, 2022, and submitted a Notice of Intent to comply with requirements of the MS4 General Permit to discharge stormwater run-off in March 2023.
A program webpage is available at IDEM: Storm Water Permitting: Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)
Stormwater Quality Management Plan
MS4 entities are required to develop and Stormwater Quality Management Plan (SWQMP), and to implement Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) to reduce polluted stormwater runoff. The Town of Burns Harbor is currently in the process of developing our SWQMP.
