NPDES Permits in New England
Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 General Permit
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EPA has revised the 2008 draft New Hampshire small MS4 permit and has re-issued a new draft permit (2013 draft permit) for public comment. A Notice of Availability for the new draft New Hampshire small MS4 general permit was published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2013. The comment period was set to expire on April 15, 2013, however the comment period has been extended two times in response to multiple requests to extend the public comment period. The public comment period following the two extensions of comment period is from February 12, 2013 to 11:59pm August 15, 2013. The 2013 draft permit, all appendices, and the fact sheet are available on this webpage.
Public meeting and public hearing information:
Public Meetings:
A total of four informal public meetings were held in cooperation with NHDES, the Manchester Stormater Coalition, The Seacoast Stormwater Coalition and the Nashua Stormwater Coalition. The dates and locations of the meetings were:
February 26th 2013 – Manchester NH - Download Handout (PDF) (20 pp, 3.4MB)
February 28th 2013 – Dover NH - Download Handout (PDF) (14 pp, 3.3MB)
March 5th 2013 – Merrimack NH - Download Handout (PDF) (14 pp, 3MB)
March 7th 2013 – Exeter NH - Download Handout (PDF) (16 pp, 3.3MB) (please note: all dates in this handout are applicable to new permittees only)
Public Hearing Information:
A Public Hearing was held on March 14, 2013 at the NHDES Pease Field Office in Portsmouth New Hampshire.
Transcript of Public Hearing (PDF) (54 pp, 155K)
2010 Census and Designated MS4s
The Bureau of the Census has recently released new 2010 urbanized area data. These data indicate new or expanded urbanized areas in some communities, which may result in the requirement for permit coverage for operators located in previously unregulated communities or the expansion of coverage for operators in currently regulated communities. For more information on communities within New Hampshire that are automatically designated and may require permit coverage see: NH regulated communities.
Permit Process
A notice of availability for the 2013 draft general permit and fact sheet was published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2013; posted on this website; and emailed or mailed directly to applicable municipalities covered by the 2003 Small MS4 General permit and any additional Operators potentially eligible for the permit coverage as well as any interested parties. Copies of the draft permit and fact sheet (explaining the basis of the permit provisions) are posted on this website. A notice of the extension of comment period was published in the Federal Register on April 4, 2013, extending the comment period to May 15, 2013. A second notice extending the public comment period was published in the Federal Register on May 13, 2013, extending the comment period to August 15, 2013. The notices of extension of comment period were posted on this website; and emailed or mailed directly to applicable municipalities covered by the 2003 Small MS4 General permit and any additional Operators potentially eligible for the permit coverage as well as any interested parties. The public comment period for the 2013 draft small MS4 general permit after the extensions of comment period is from February 12, 2013 to 11:59pm August 15, 2013.
Following the close of the comment period on August 15, 2013 the Regional Administrator will issue a final permit decision. In reaching a final decision on the draft permit, the Regional Administrator will respond to all significant comments and make its responses available to the public. The final permit and response to comments will be posted on this website. A notice of availability for the final permit will be published in the Federal Register.
The effective date of the final permit will be no sooner than the date the final permit is signed and made publicly available. To obtain coverage, Operators will be required to submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI). EPA anticipates that NOIs will be due ninety (90) days after the effective date of the final permit.
2013 Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 Permit (public comment period from February 12, 2013 to August 15, 2013)
- Federal Register Notice – Availability of Draft Permit
- Federal Register Notice – Extension of Comment Period
- Federal Register Notice – Second Extension of Comment Period
- 2013 Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 General Permit (PDF) (60 pp, 538K)
- Appendix A - Definitions, Abbreviations and Acronyms (PDF) (6 pp, 189K)
- Appendix B - Standard Permit Conditions (PDF) (10 pp, 97K)
- Appendix C - Endangered Species Guidance (PDF) (12 pp, 180K)
- Appendix D - Procedures Relating to Historic Properties Preservation (PDF) (5 pp, 103K)
- Appendix E - Information required for the Notice of Intent (NOI) Electronic Version (PDF) (14 pp, 455K)
- Appendix E - Information required for the Notice of Intent (NOI) Printable Version (PDF) (15 pp, 3.3MB)
- Appendix F - Requirements of Approved Total Maximum Daily Loads (PDF) (73 pp, 1.2MB)
- Appendix G - Monitoring Requirements for Discharges to Impaired Waters (PDF) (2 pp, 107K)
- Appendix H - Requirements Related to Nitrogen Impaired Waters in the Great Bay Estuary and Chloride Impaired Waters (PDF) (20 pp, 576K)
- Fact Sheet (PDF) (256 pp, 6.3MB)
History
On May 1, 2003, EPA Region 1 issued its Final General Permit for Stormwater Discharges From Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (PDF) (56 pp, 259K) (2003 small MS4 permit) that covers "traditional" (i.e., cities and towns) and "non-traditional" (i.e., Federal and state agencies) MS4 Operators located in the states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This permit expired on May 1, 2008 but remains in effect for authorized Operators until a new permit is issued. During 2008 – 2010 EPA issued three separate draft Small MS4 General permits to replace the 2003 Small MS4 permit. One for eligible Operators located in the state of New Hampshire and two separate Massachusetts permits; one for Operators located in the North Coastal watershed and the other for those located in the Interstate, Merrimack and South Coastal watersheds.
The Notice of Availability of the Draft NPDES General permit for Discharges From Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems located in the State of New Hampshire (NHR040000) was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2008 (See 73 FR 78786). The public comment period for the draft permit began December 23, 2008 and ended January 20, 2009, but was extended through February 20, 2009. EPA mailed notices of availability of the draft permit to applicable Operators in New Hampshire in late December 2008. EPA held a public hearing for the draft permit on January 28, 2009. A transcript (PDF) (37 pp, 1.3MB) of the hearing in addition to copies of the written comments are available. The 2008 Draft permit, Fact Sheet, and related links are available below.
2008 Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 Permit (previous draft permit)
Information on the 2008 Draft Permit
- Federal Register Notice
- 2008 Draft New Hampshire Small MS4 General Permit (PDF) (43 pp, 486K)
- Appendix A - Definitions, Abbreviations and Acronyms (PDF) (6 pp, 149K)
- Appendix B - Standard Permit Conditions (PDF) (10 pp, 150K)
- Appendix C – Endangered Species Guidance (PDF) (12 pp, 205K)
- Appendix D - Procedures Relating to Historic Properties Preservation (PDF) (5 pp, 186K)
- Appendix E - Information required for the Notice of Intent (NOI) (PDF) (10 pp, 27K)
- Appendix F – Requirements of Approved Total Maximum Daily Loads (PDF) (2 pp, 127K)
- Fact Sheet (PDF) (65 pp, 423K)
Helpful Information and Links
- Summary of Major Changes between 2003 and 2013 Small MS4 Permit (PDF) (10 pp, 151K)
- IDDE Flowchart (PDF) (2 pp, 295K)
- Impaired Waters Information
- USFW Endangered Species web site
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places web site
- Technical Support Document – Estimating Change in Impervious Area (IA) and Directly Connected Impervious Areas (DCIA) for New Hampshire Small MS4 Permit, April 2011 (PDF) (5 pp, 627K)
- Technical Support Document – Assessing Street and Parking Design Standards to Reduce Excess Impervious Cover in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, April 2011 (PDF) (6 pp, 437K)
- Technical Support Document – Stormwater Retrofit Techniques for Restoring Urban Drainages in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, April 2011 (PDF) (4 pp, 860K)
- Phosphorus Control Plan Information (Pending)
EPA Contacts
Newton Tedder (tedder.newton@epa.gov), 617-918-1038
Glenda Velez (velez.glenda@epa.gov), 617-918-1677
State Contacts
NHDES
Jeff Andrews (Jeff.Andrews@des.nh.gov), 603-271-2984