Challenges, Constraints and Opportunities Associated with the Development of a NPDES Watershed-Based Stormwater Permit in the Middle Rio Grande Area

1. Challenges, Constraints and Opportunities Associated with the
Development of a NPDES Watershed-Based Stormwater Permit in
the Middle Rio Grande Area
By Molly Blumhoefer

2. Introduction
•2006 – EPA commissioned National Research Council to review the
national stormwater program
•2008- the NRC report recommended the nation revise its stormwater
management program to ensure that it meets the criteria set forth in the
Clean Water Act (CWA)
•2010- the EPA initiated three pilot projects to assess the practicability of
issuing watershed-based Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System
(MS4) permits for urbanized areas
Ramsey Washington Watershed District, MN
Middle Rio Grande Watershed District, NM
Milwaukee Metro Watershed, WI

3. EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000

4. Possible Permittees & Classifications under new Watershed-Based Permit
Class A:
City of Albuquerque
AMAFCA (Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control)
UNM (University of New Mexico)
NMDOT (New Mexico Department of Transportation District 3)
Class B:
Bernalillo County
Sandoval County
Village of Corrales
City of Rio Rancho
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
KAFB (Kirtland Air Force Base)
Town of Bernalillo
EXPO (State Fairgrounds/Expo NM)
SSCAFCA (Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority)
Class C:
ESCAFCA (Eastern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority)
Sandia Labs (DOE)
Class D:
Pueblo of Sandia
Pueblo of Isleta
Pueblo of Santa Ana
-EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000

5. Challenges to a watershed based permit in the MRG region
•The Middle Rio Grande region of New Mexico has political, cultural,
geographic and climatic characteristics that are unlike any other urban
areas in the country
•Low Impact Development (LID) options for stormwater
management may be fewer for the MRG
• New Mexico is one of the only states without NPDES
primacy
•There hydrologic and legislative obstacles unique to the
region, and to each entity
• Some POCs occur naturally as background contaminants
• EPA Region 6 (Dallas, TX)

7. Background
Minimum Control Measures
1. Public education and outreach
2. Public participation/involvement
3. Illicit discharge detection and elimination
4. Construction site runoff control
5. Post-construction runoff control
6. Pollution prevention/good housekeeping
Stencils created and painted
by Tulane University students, Center for Public Service. New Orleans, LA

8. Discussion and Recommendations
- Development of an equitable method of sharing costs of stormwater quality
protection measures is difficult for large watersheds, principally those that
encompass many stakeholders and a variety of land-use practices
Darghouth, Gambarelli, Roux, Styger, Ward. (2008). Watershed managementapproaches ,policies, and operations:
lessons for scaling up. The world bank,Washington, DC.
-“One of the main attributes of watershed management is the potential to improve the
management of externalities resulting from land and water interactions. An externality can be
defined as the effect of one party‟s actions that impose a cost or benefit on another
party, without that cost or benefit being accounted for in the market” (World Bank, 2001).
-Although „cost-sharing‟ and „credit systems‟ were the terms stakeholders were comfortable using
under the stipulation of resource allocation, a real cost-benefit/social return on investment
analysis was yet to be applied for these methods in the watershed.
-A cost-benefit analysis may not be possible until different methods are actually at play

9. Discussion and Recommendations
•
The watershed matrix and associated application process
-
It is important that an entity is able to demonstrate their individuality
in categories of „impact‟ and „administrative capacity‟ and
infrastructure
-
Impact for the menu based approach for activity implementation
-
Administrative capacity and impact combined to show needs for
funding

10. Discussion and Recommendations
Joint-powers scenario
- It is logical that the BMPs are determined by an entity‟s impact
- For credit –trading and cost sharing, sectors should be based on
geographic proximity
-Under general EPA recommendations for MS4s
“In the case of limited capabilities, the permittee can work with
neighboring operators of regulated small MS4s, preferably on a
watershed basis, to form a shared stormwater management
program in which each permittee is responsible for activities
that are within individual legal authorities and abilities”
(EPA, 2000)
- A central agency that administers large fund-raising events and
processes applications from individual entities on need basis

11. Small is better…
"If you do it one small watershed at a time, you still have
public support. Small size is the advantage. This replaces
Big Brother with Joe down the creek.“
Michael Parfit, "Restoration: New Ideas, New Understanding, New Hope," Water: The Power, Promise and Turmoil of North America's Fresh Water. National
Geographic Special Edition at pp. 113-114 (November 1993).

13. EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000 : Appendix E
Cooperative Monitoring Scenario

14. EPA Draft Permit (2013) NPDES Permit No. NMR04A000: Appendix E
Individual Monitoring Scenario

15. Questions