Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP)

Rutherford County's Stormwater Program has written plans for all six minimum measures of the NPDES Phase II permit.  The combination of the required documents, plans, and execution of those documents make up the plan. Rutherford County currently has standard operating procedures for our program. 

MCM1 and 2 - Public Education and Outreach on Stormwater Impacts
Permittees shall develop and implement an education and outreach program that includes public education and outreach on stormwater impacts as a component of the stormwater management program. The objective of this program is to reduce or eliminate behaviors and practices that cause or contribute to the impacts of stormwater discharges on water bodies and the steps that the audiences can take to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff to the maximum extent practicable. This program will be designed to reach three major audiences, (1) the public, (2) engineering and development community, and (3) employees. The program shall include the following at a minimum:
The Public Information and Education (PIE) plan shall include:
a. Specific public information/education activities that are designed to meet the management measure;
b. Identification of job categories and applicable management measures for employee education;
c. Schedule/calendar of events for each year; and
d. Methodology to evaluate components to assess overall effectiveness and the need for improvement.

MCM3 - Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE)
Permittee must develop, implement, and enforce a program to detect and eliminate illicit discharges into the storm sewer system.  The objective is to detect and eliminate illicit discharges to the maximum extent practicable. See Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Plan for addressing these requirements.

This program must include the following at a minimum:
a. Develop, if not already completed, a storm sewer system map;
b. To the extent allowable under State, Tribal, or local law, effectively prohibit, through the Stormwater Ordinance or other regulatory mechanism4, non-stormwater discharges (unless allowed by sub-section 1.3.3.2 of the permit) into the storm sewer system and implement appropriate enforcement response plan (ERP);

c. Develop and implement a program to detect, investigate, and address nonstormwater discharges, including illegal dumping, to the system. This includes standard procedures and forms to be followed to investigate illicit discharges throughout the MS4 jurisdiction.

d. Address the following categories of non-stormwater discharges or flows (i.e., illicit discharges) only if the permittee identifies them as a significant contributor of pollutants to the MS4: water line flushing, landscape irrigation, diverted stream flows, rising ground waters, uncontaminated groundwater infiltration (as defined at 40 C.F.R. 35.2005(b)(20)), uncontaminated pumped groundwater, discharges from potable water sources, foundation drains, air conditioning condensation, irrigation water, springs, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn watering, individual residential car washing, flows from riparian habitats and wetlands, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and street wash water(including tunnel cleaning) (discharges or flows from firefighting activities are excluded from the effective prohibition against nonstormwater and need only be addressed where they are identified assignificant sources of pollutants to waters)
e. Inform public employees, businesses, and the general public of hazards associated with illegal discharges and improper disposal of waste. The educational training for public employees as identified by job category in the PIE plan shall be tracked for each employee; and
f. The permittee shall develop a mechanism for the public to report (e.g., via hotline or website), suspected illicit discharges.

Stream Monitoring for Discharges into Waterbodies with EPA-Approved or Established TMDLs
The permittee must implement stormwater pollutant reductions consistent with the assumptions and requirements of any applicable WLA(s) in TMDLs established or approved by EPA. If a TMDL is applicable, the Stormwater Management Program must include Best Management Practices (BMPs) specifically targeted to achieve the reductions prescribed by the TMDL. The Stormwater Management Program must also contain a TMDL Monitoring  Plan and/or evaluation component to assess the effectiveness of the BMPs in achieving the reductions, and overall compliance with the standard of the Maximum Extent Practicable (MEP). Monitoring can entail a number of activities, including but not limited to: outfall monitoring, instream monitoring or modeling. 
Discharges to Waterbodies with Unavailable Parameters without TMDLs
For the discharge of nutrients, pathogens, siltation, or other parameters related to stormwater runoff from urbanized areas into a receiving water which has been identified according to subpart 3.1 as having unavailable parameters but not covered by a TMDL, the permittee must document in its Stormwater Management Program how the BMPs will address the discharge of these pollutants. Compliance with this section shall be demonstrated through a monitoring component to assess the effectiveness of the BMPs in controlling the discharge of these pollutants. This component must also be included in the Stormwater Management Program. Monitoring can entail several activities including but not limited to: outfall monitoring, in-stream monitoring and/or modeling. Rutherford County does visual stream assessment (VSA) walking every year and has a VSA map that can be used for stream evaluation.

MCM4 -Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control
Permittees must develop, implement, and enforce a construction site stormwater runoff pollutant control program to reduce pollutants in any stormwater runoff to the small MS4 from construction activities that result in a land disturbance of greater than or equal to one acre. Reduction of stormwater discharges from construction activity disturbing less than one acre must be included in the program if that construction activity is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that would disturb one acre or more. The program must include the following at a minimum:
a. A stormwater ordinance or other regulatory mechanism to require erosion prevention and sediment controls (EPSC), as well as sanctions to enforce compliance. The enforcement sanctions must be identified in an ERP.

b. Requirements for construction site operators to implement appropriate erosion prevention and sediment control best management practices (BMPs). The permittee’s EPSC BMPs shall be consistent with those described in the TDEC Erosion Control Handbook.
c. Requirements for design storm for all waters as well as special conditions for unavailable parameters waters or exceptional Tennessee waters must be consistent with those of the current Tennessee Construction General Permit (TNR100000);
d. An inventory of actively permitted public and private construction sites that result in a total land disturbance that exceed the 1 acre or common plan rule. The inventory must be updated as new development and redevelopment projects are permitted and completed. The inventory must contain relevant contact information for each new development and redevelopment project (e.g., tracking number, name, address, phone, etc.), the size of the new development and redevelopment project and area of disturbance, whether the new development and redevelopment project has submitted for permit coverage under the Tennessee Construction General Permit (TNR100000), and the date the permittee approved the construction site plan. The permittee must make this inventory available to TDEC upon request;

e. Requirements for construction site operators to control wastes such as discarded building materials, concrete truck washout, chemicals, litter, and sanitary waste at construction sites within the jurisdiction to avoid adverse impacts to water quality;
f. Specific procedures for construction site plan (including erosion prevention and sediment controls) review and approval (or denial) which incorporate consideration of potential water quality impacts. The procedures must include an evaluation of plan completeness, and overall BMP effectiveness;
g. Mechanisms or plans for public access to information on new development and redevelopment projects and receiving and considering comments from the public on those new development and redevelopment projects;
h. Procedures for permittee inspectors to evaluate and document construction site compliance. These procedures, as required in subpart 4.5, must include specific enforcement steps to ensure construction operators maintain compliance with the permittee’s construction program requirements. At a minimum 10% of all non-priority construction activities must be inspected at least once during the reporting period;
i. Requirements for permittee inspectors who conduct inspections of construction sites must maintain certification under the Tennessee Fundamentals of Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control, Level 1 (or
equivalent such as Tennessee Registered Engineer, Landscape Architect, or Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control). Construction site plan reviewers must receive a certificate of completion from the Tennessee Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Design Course, Level 2 (or equivalent such as Tennessee Registered Engineer, Landscape Architect, or Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control). It is recommended that permittee construction staff receive training under both courses; and
j. Priority construction activity shall be at a minimum, those construction activities discharging directly into, or immediately upstream of, waters the state recognized as unavailable condition for siltation or Exceptional Tennessee Waters as noted on TDEC's stream data viewer.

MCM5 - Permanent Stormwater Management Program
a. The permittee shall develop and implement a permanent stormwater management program to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges through management practices, control techniques, and systems, design, and engineering practices implemented to the maximum extent practicable (MEP), as set forth herein.
b. The permanent stormwater management program shall include written subdivision development process for plans review, engineering subdivision and site inspections procedures, and a means to ensure that permanent stormwater control measures (SCMs) are adequately operated and maintained. Long term maintenance agreements and plans must be kept on file and recorded at the register of deeds office.
c. The permittee must develop and implement, and modify as necessary, a stormwater ordinance or other regulatory mechanism to address permanent stormwater management at new development and redevelopment projects.
d. The permittee must submit an implementation plan for its permanent stormwater management program not later than 90 days after the effective date of the first new or revised permit issued after the effective date of Tennessee Rule 0400-40-10-.04. The implementation plan shall include a brief description of the main components of the permittee’s permanent stormwater management program, which should include: codes and ordinance development and implementation; procedures for plans review and criteria for approval; procedures for conducting and tracking site inspections; and SCM operation and maintenance policies. The implementation plan shall also include a timeline to develop and implement the program. If the permittee has implemented a permanent stormwater management program that complies with all requirements of the new or revised permit, the permittee may submit an implementation plan explaining how its program complies and identifying any new or modified elements of its program. The schedule must indicate completion as soon as feasible but no later than 24 months from the effective date of the first permit issued after the effective date of Tennessee Rule 0400-40- 10-.04. Further, if implementation will take longer than 12 months, the plan must include interim milestones. Implementation plans must be submitted to the Division.

Water Quality Riparian Buffers
Permittees shall develop and implement a set of requirements to establish, protect, and maintain permanent water quality riparian buffers to provide additional water quality treatment in riparian areas of new development and redevelopment projects that contain streams, including wetlands, ponds, and lakes. The current Water Quality Buffer Policy meets the ordinances and local requirements adopted prior to November 13, 2018, and that mandate minimum 30-foot water quality riparian buffers for drainage areas less than one square mile, and minimum 60-foot water quality riparian buffers for drainage areas of greater than one square mile. 

MCM6 - Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping
The permittee must develop and implement an operation and maintenance program that has the ultimate goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from municipal operations.

This program must include an employee training program and training resources for employees responsible for municipal operations at facilities within the jurisdiction of the permittee that handle, generate, and/or store materials which constitute a potential pollutant of concern for MS4s.

The permittee must develop an operation and maintenance (O&M) program
detailing the activities and procedures the permittee will implement so that the
MS4 infrastructure is maintained to reduce the discharge of pollutants from the
MS4 for each of the following municipal operations as applicable:
a. Highway Dept.;
b. County owned parkng lots and convenience centers;
c. Building maintenance and storage yards;
d. County Garage; 

e. Landfill