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Program Background
Polluted storm water runoff from urbanized areas is a major cause of impairment to our Nation’s waterways. Efforts to improve water quality came with the passage of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972. Under the authority of the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a storm water permitting program with the goal of significantly reducing the pollution source. Collin County has been designated by the EPA as having “urbanized areas” and therefore must make application to discharge storm water to waters of the United States.
The Bureau of Census defines urbanized areas as “…a land area comprising one or more places – central place(s) – and the adjacent densely settled surrounding area - urban fringe – that together have a residential population of at least 50,000 and an overall population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile”. Collin County Urbanized Area Map |
In Texas, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was delegated the responsibility by the EPA for implementing the regulations, commonly called the Phase II Storm Water Program. Under the Phase II Program, The EPA identified six minimum control measures, which should be included in a community’s Storm Water Program. The six storm water quality minimum controls are as follows:
1. Public Education and Outreach on Storm Water Impacts
2. Public Involvement/Participation
3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
4. Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control
5. Post-Construction Storm Water Management in New Development and Redevelopment
6. Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations
The objective of the Collin County Storm Water Management Program (SWMP) is to develop a program with which Collin County can reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable (MEP). This program was developed with much coordination between the County and community to customize a program for Collin County that not only meets state and federal program requirements but also utilizes current activities, addresses issues that are important to the community, and is economically feasible.
A schedule to implement the Storm Water Management Program, as well as measurable goals to track the implementation progress, has been developed for each of the BMPs in this SWMP. Please refer to the Collin County Storm Water Management Plan for more information.
Collin County submitted its NOI and SWMP to the TCEQ on February 8, 2008 for coverage under the TPDES General Permit, however the permit term began when the requirement for the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Small MS4 General Permit was signed into effect by TCEQ on August 13, 2007.
| Year |
Reporting Cycle |
Annual Report Due Date |
| 1 |
8/13/2007 – 8/12/2008 |
11/10/2008 |
| 2 |
8/13/2008 – 8/12/2009 |
11/10/2009 |
| 3 |
8/13/2009 – 8/12/2010 |
11/10/2010 |
| 4 |
8/13/2010 – 8/12/2011 |
11/10/2011 |
| 5 |
8/13/2011 – 8/12/2012 |
11/10/2012 |
The Year 1 Report was submitted to TCEQ on November 10, 2008. Please refer to the Year 1 Report and changes made to the Best Management Practices for more information.
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