Mandated by Congress under the Clean Water Act, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented the NPDES Storm Water Program, which is a comprehensive two-phased national program for addressing storm water discharges which degrade the quality of our creeks, rivers and lakes. The program uses the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program to require the implementation of controls designed to prevent harmful pollutants from being washed by storm water runoff into local water bodies. In Ohio, the NPDES Permit Program is administered by Ohio EPA.
In April 2003, Ohio EPA issued Clermont County and 13 local townships and municipalities a Phase II Stormwater General Permit. This permit authorizes the discharge of storm water to the county's rivers, lakes and streams, provided that six minimum controls are met. These controls include:
- public education
- public involvement and notification
- illicit discharge detection and elimination
- construction runoff control
- post construction storm water management
- pollution prevention for local government operations
As required by the Phase II permit, Clermont County and its local partners cooperatively developed a five year Storm Water Management Plan in 2003 that describes the steps the County will take to meet the six minimum controls. To view the management plan, click here. This plan will be updated in 2008.