Help stop stormwater from polluting our rivers and streams

March 29, 2010

Stormwater runoff – rainwater that washes over the land rather than sinking into it – is the biggest source of pollution to Massachusetts waters.  Rainwater that hits parking lots, driveways, roads, lawns and even rooftops sweeps up everything in its path - from sand and salt to pet waste, chemicals and automobile exhaust - and carries this pollution through municipal storm drains directly into our rivers, wetlands and harbors. 

Most cities and towns in Massachusetts, including all of those in the Charles River watershed, are required by the US EPA to obtain a federal permit for their stormwater system discharges, known as the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit.  This permit program is now being revised by EPA to require better management of municipal drainage systems. 

CRWA strongly supports EPA’s new draft general permit for Massachusetts North Coastal watersheds (including the Charles), which will:

• Require municipalities to provide publicly accessible stormwater management plans, maps, and monitoring data.
• Increase the use of sustainable, green infrastructure (such as rain gardens).
• Set higher inspection standards to ensure that sewage is not getting into storm drains.
• In watersheds like the Charles, which have an approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nutrients and bacteria, municipalities will have to gradually modify their storm drain systems and practices to meet the pollution limits set in the TMDLs.

To read the full permit, or the fact sheet, go to EPA’s draft permit homepage.

TAKE ACTION!

Please show your support for these critical efforts by EPA to reduce stormwater pollution by Thursday, September 30, 2010. The simplest way is to click here which will take you to Conservation Law Foundation’s webpage to send an automated email to EPA. 

You can also send EPA a letter or an email to let them know you support the draft MS4 permit.  Comments are due Thursday, September 30, 2010, and can be sent via mail or email, to:

EPA-Region 1
Attn: Thelma Murphy (murphy.thelma@epa.gov),
Office of Ecosystem Protection
5 Post Office Square – Suite 100
Mail Code: OEP06-4
Boston, MA 02109-3912

Sample letter to EPA

Dear Ms. Murphy,
As a resident of [your town here], I strongly support efforts to clean up Massachusetts’ rivers and harbors, and to reduce stormwater pollution in particular.  I urge EPA to move forward with the proposed new permit for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems in Massachusetts North Coastal watersheds. 

Consider adding your own language about things like:

• We have made great progress cleaning up sewage in the Charles; now we have to move aggressively to clean up stormwater pollution.
• The new permit will help reduce phosphorus pollution to the Charles, which causes toxic blue-green algae blooms.
• The investments that have been made to support “green infrastructure” in the Charles, such as the Upper Valley Storage Areas, and the Emerald Necklace, have paid us back many times over in flood reduction, cleaner water and better quality of life.
• I [canoe, row, kayak, fish, swim] in the Charles and I can see how polluted it is after a heavy rain.

Remember to sign your name and include your complete address.

Thanks for your support and help in protecting the Charles River!