NPDES Storm Water Management Plan Annual Report - Permit Year 14 Municipality/Organization: MassDOT - Highway Division EPA NPDES Permit Number: MA043025 MaDEP Transmittal Number: Annual Report Number & Reporting Period: No. 14: April 2016-March 2017 NPDES Phase II Small MS4 General Permit Annual Report Part I. General Information Contact Person: Mr. Henry Barbaro Title: Supervisor of Stormwater Unit Telephone#: (857) 368-8788 Email: [email protected] Certification: I certify under penalty oflaw that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best ofmy knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submittin false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations. Si ature: Printed Name: Thomas J. Tinlin Title: Administrator - MassDOT, Highway Division Date: 05/01/2017 NPDES Storm Water Management Plan Annual Report – Permit Year 14 Part II. Self-Assessment The Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Highway Division (MassDOT) has completed the required self-assessment and has determined itself to be in full compliance with the conditions of the Massachusetts MS4 permit, pursuant to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. MassDOT has spent significant time, effort and funds focusing on the potential impacts of stormwater from its roads and properties this year. MassDOT has advanced its stormwater program in Permit Year 14 through implementation of the Impaired Waters Program (IWP), educating its staff, conducting public outreach at numerous seminars, and continuing a pilot stormwater inspection program. The MassDOT Environmental Services Stormwater Unit continues to consist of three environmental scientists who focus on stormwater management across the Commonwealth. The Stormwater Unit reviews the proposed drainage/stormwater management system improvements for all programmed (planned) projects, identifies programmed projects that would benefit from the implementation of structural stormwater BMPs, ensures effective BMPs are designed, and implements the IWP. Additionally, the Stormwater Unit works to expand its BMP and drainage inventory, and promote inspection and maintenance practices. In Permit Year 14, the Stormwater Unit hired one summer intern and three co-ops (a six-month internship program) which increased the overall capabilities of the Unit. MassDOT, with consultant support, has continued to implement the IWP to address discharges of highway runoff to impaired waters as part of its compliance with the MS4 general permit, and has completed a significant number of water quality treatment projects. MassDOT’s IWP includes two components: the Retrofit Initiative and the Programmed Projects Initiative. Through the Retrofit Initiative, MassDOT identifies locations that warrant adding after-the-fact stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) along existing roadways; and through the Programmed Projects Initiative, MassDOT incorporates stormwater BMPs into programmed highway projects. The latter project types have the advantage of being more holistically integrated into highway drainage systems, which often provides more effective stormwater management. MassHighway’s 2010 IWP commitment to the court and EPA regarding IWP assessments of impaired waters potentially receiving MassDOT stormwater runoff was fulfilled in Permit Year 13, therefore it was not necessary for MassDOT to complete additional assessments during Permit Year 14. Overall, 826 water bodies were assessed, 142 more than the 684 required under the EPA Enforcement Order. These additional assessments illustrate MassDOT’s commitment to manage and treat runoff from its highways as the opportunities arise. This year, MassDOT employed six consultant firms to perform site assessments to determine if retrofit BMPs were warranted. There are currently 46 stormwater BMP retrofit projects in various stages of design. These projects include the design of a broad range of vegetated and subsurface stormwater infiltration BMPs. BMPs included in final designs this year are estimated to remove 126 acres of effective impervious cover and 185 lbs/yr of phosphorus from the watersheds. 32 projects are currently under construction and 49 have been completed since the program began in 2010. A summary of the IWP is included in BMPs 7R and 7U, along with Appendix D of this report. Page 2 NPDES Storm Water Management Plan Annual Report – Permit Year 14 In order to alert designers working on projects that potentially impact impaired waters, and to capture information regarding stormwater improvements incorporated into highway designs, MassDOT developed a water quality data form (WQDF) which is submitted by design consultants at the 25% and 75% design stages. According to the 25% forms submitted in Permit Year 14, MassDOT proposed projects would discharge to 44 receiving water body segments. Of these segments, 35 had water quality impairments, 19 of which specifically had a final Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report, and 27 segments were in a watershed covered by a TMDL. The 75% forms documented a total of 64 stormwater BMPs (existing and proposed) and at least 1,072 proposed deep sump catch basins. Additionally, sensitive site design elements for these projects were documented and included measures such as preserving existing vegetation, natural drainage patterns, and riparian buffers; minimizing disturbance to wetland resource areas; promoting sheet flow to vegetated areas; and reducing existing impervious cover. Information collected in WQDFs during Permit Year 14 is included in Appendix E. MassDOT has found that alerting designers early on about impaired waters is an effective way to make sure they include the appropriate stormwater features to address the impairment. In addition, by capturing BMP design information at the 75% design stage, MassDOT can readily build its database of stormwater BMPs which has a variety of applications (e.g., asset management). MassDOT is updating the WQDF to be released in Permit Year 15. This update will include a BMP pollutant estimator tool and allow MassDOT to track pollutant removal and effective IC reduction from each BMP proposed. MassDOT has developed the IWP geospatial database to track the many structural BMPs being designed and constructed by its design consultants as well as the status of water body assessments. As the assessment portion of the IWP has been fulfilled, BMP data has been transferred to MassDOT’s Stormwater Asset Database. In addition to BMPs, this database includes information on stormwater discharge points, inlets, manholes, and pipes. WQDF information (e.g., stormwater BMPs) is used to populate the Stormwater Asset Database. The Stormwater Asset Database is an integral part of MassDOT’s Asset Management Initiative to collect location and condition data on all assets statewide. During Permit Year 14, all structures along MassDOT roadways (inlets and manholes) were collected using LiDAR and high quality imagery as part of MassDOT’s Asset Management Initiative. Compiling stormwater BMP and drainage infrastructure information in the Stormwater Asset Database will allow for streamlined tracking and maintenance of BMPs moving forward. Inspection forms were developed and piloted for inlets, outlets, and BMPs. The Stormwater Asset Database will be used by field personnel to report on condition and maintenance activities performed moving forward. MassDOT conducted a robust training and outreach effort in Permit Year 14 including presentations on MassDOT’s stormwater program at various conferences, participation in national research studies and workshops, and internal staff training. MassDOT’s stormwater program continues to be at the cutting edge of stormwater management for regional state DOTs, and presentations from MassDOT are sought out by conference organizers in the area. MassDOT continues to follow up on potential illicit connections identified along its drainage systems Page 3 NPDES Storm Water Management Plan Annual Report – Permit Year 14 while working on a more targeted and efficient Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) program as the isolated and controlled nature of MassDOT’s roadway network results in few illicit connections. MassDOT is working to prioritize its IDDE efforts by focusing on watersheds that are more environmentally sensitive and/ or where pathogens are identified as an issue. Several steps have been taken to develop this prioritization, and more information is included in BMP 3D (pg. 21). MassDOT continued the review of Appendix A (IDDE Status Permit) and Appendix B (Status of Drainage Tie-In Permits) tables that have been submitted in previous Annual Reports. This included revising the tables, including more specific information on the Property Owner and Action Items. Additionally, this critical review included contacting each District to determine if any of the drainage tie-ins were permitted; and therefore could be removed from the IDDE tables. The Drainage Tie-In Standard Operating