A critical component of the Post-Construction Stormwater Management for Development and Redevelopment Program of the MS4 Permit is ensuring the long-term maintenance of these permanent water quality Control Measure facilities so that they function as designed to treat urban pollutants. The legal mechanism to ensure the long-term functionality of the facility is the Maintenance Agreement (MA) executed with the Owner for each site with a permanent water quality facility.

The revised MA will continue to require the owner and all subsequent owners to maintain the functional elements of the permanent water quality Control Measure facility in perpetuity such that the facility functions in accordance with the approved design. However, SEMSWA has removed the requirement of owner/operator self-inspection reporting to SEMSWA annually, as this program has had varying degrees of success. Instead, SEMSWA will document the inspection of the Control Measure to ensure the functionality of the facility, with an inspection performed once a permit term, at a minimum, to meet MS4 permit requirements.

Additionally, with the adoption of the SEMSWA Enforcement Response Plan* (Resolution 18-16), specific compliance enforcement procedures that were previously contained in the MA will be instead referred to the Enforcement Response Plan*. Also, the facility legal access conditions of the MA have been clarified to make sure SEMSWA can effectively inspect to ensure its proper working condition, as well as giving SEMSWA legal means of access for the purposes of inspecting, operating, installing, constructing, reconstructing, maintaining, and repairing or replacing the Control Measure facility to the extent that the owner fails to do so, at the owner’s expense.

A Standard Operations Procedure for Inspections and Maintenance (O&M) for each Standard permanent water quality Control Measure facility have been prepared. The design engineer is responsible for the preparation of a permanent water quality facility Operations and Maintenance Site Plan. A detailed submittal checklist for the Operations and Maintenance Site Plan will be included with the Operations and Maintenance Site Plan submittal to SEMSWA. It is anticipated that the stormwater design sheet and/or landscaping plan sheet from the CDs can be utilized as a base for preparing the Operations and Maintenance Site Plan. The Maintenance Agreement and Operations and Maintenance Site Plan will be recorded against the property.

The revised MA will provide SEMSWA a means to implement an effective Post-Construction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment Program that ensures the long-term operations and maintenance of a permanent water quality Control Measure facility such that it functions in accordance with the approved design.

*Enforcement Response Plan is available upon request. Please contact SEMSWA to review a copy.