The City of Round Rock developed a Stormwater Management Program (SWMP) to reduce pollutants in the City’s stormwater system and to improve the water quality in the local lakes, creeks, and rivers.
The SWMP addresses Five Minimum Control Measures:
- Public Education, Outreach and Involvement
- Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
- Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control
- Post-Construction Stormwater Management in New Development and Redevelopment
- Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations
To satisfy the minimum control measure requirements, the City developed various programs known as Best Management Practices (or BMPs). The effectiveness of the implementation of each BMP is assessed by one or more measurable goals.
History
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Stormwater Phase II Final Rule was publicized in 1999 under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Phase II Final Rule requires NPDES permit coverage for stormwater discharges from certain regulated small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) (designated entities between 10,000 and 100,000 people or entities located in an urbanized area) and construction activity disturbing more than one acre of land. Under this rule, the EPA requires that operators of small MS4s to develop, implement, and enforce a Stormwater Management Program limiting the discharge of pollutants “to the maximum extent practical” to any waters of the United States.
In Texas, the EPA delegated full authority to issue permits for the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) program to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). On August 13, 2007, under the provisions of Section 402 of the CWA and Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code, TCEQ issued TPDES Phase II General Permit No. TXR040000 to discharge waste from small MS4s to waters of the United States. TCEQ’s TPDES Phase II General Permit was renewed in December of 2013. Based on the 2010 census from the U.S. Bureau of Census, the City of Round Rock is designated as a small MS4 located within an urbanized area eligible for coverage under the Phase II General Permit No. TXR040000.
