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Stormwater management consists of the planning, maintenance, and regulation of facilities which collect, store, or convey Stormwater as well as managing the quantity and quality of stormwater.
Stormwater runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground. Impervious surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets prevent Stormwater from naturally soaking into the ground.
Statewide, the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) operates and maintains highways, rest areas, maintenance areas and a number of other impervious surfaces. As Stormwater runs off these impervious surfaces and nearby properties, it can pick up pollutants like oil, fertilizers, pesticides, dirt, trash, animal waste and other debris. These pollutants – called non-point source pollutants - then flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or other aquatic resource and can degrade the quality of North Dakota’s water resources. If left uncontrolled and untreated, Stormwater runoff can harm habitat, erode stream channels, and carry pollutants into lakes, rivers, and wetlands and the bodies of water we use for swimming, fishing, and providing drinking water.
Statewide, the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) operates and maintains highways, rest areas, maintenance areas and a number of other impervious surfaces. As Stormwater runs off these impervious surfaces and nearby properties, it can pick up pollutants like oil, fertilizers, pesticides, dirt, trash, animal waste and other debris. These pollutants – called non-point source pollutants - then flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or other aquatic resource and can degrade the quality of North Dakota’s water resources. If left uncontrolled and untreated, Stormwater runoff can harm habitat, erode stream channels, and carry pollutants into lakes, rivers, and wetlands and the bodies of water we use for swimming, fishing, and providing drinking water.
As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. In most cases, the NPDES permit program is administered by authorized states. In North Dakota, the NPDES program is administered by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ).
Polluted Stormwater runoff is commonly transported through Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), from which it is often discharged untreated into local bodies of water. An MS4 is a conveyance or system of conveyances that is:
To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into an MS4, operators must obtain a NPDES permit and develop a stormwater management program.
A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been developed and signed by the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ). This agreement is entered into by each agency to promote interagency cooperation and to define the duties of each agency as they relate to the efficient implementation of erosion and sediment control on highway construction projects in North Dakota. Changes have been made to the previous MOU and are as follows: