NCS000494_Lewisville Draft SWMP v1 DEQ Comment Letter_20210222

February 22, 2021

VIA EMAIL ONLY
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Town of Lewisville
Attn: Hank Perkins, Town Manager
[e-mail]
6510 Shallowford Road
Lewisville, NC 27023

Subject: COMMENTS ON DRAFT SWMP (NOV-2020-PC-0327)
Town of Lewisville
NPDES MS4 Permit No. NCS000494
Forsyth County

Dear Mr. Perkins:

On July 22, 2020, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) audited the Town of Lewisville
(Town) for compliance with the subject NPDES MS4 permit. As a result, a Notice of Violation (NOV)
was issued to the Town on August 6, 2020. The NOV defined specific document submittals and
deadlines, which have been provided in a timely manner.

DEQ received the required Draft Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP), version 1, submittal on
December 9, 2020. Staff have reviewed the submitted Draft SWMP and request that the following
comments be addressed in a Draft SWMP v2. The Draft SWMP v2 is required to be signed and
submitted to DEQ within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of this letter.

Comments

1. General comment: Include both a frequency and applicable permit year(s) in Column C -
Schedule for Implementation (Once, Annually, Continuously, etc.). See SWMP Template
Instructions and General SWMP Guidance on the DEQ MS4 Forms & Resources web page for
additional information. Please note that the new permit is expected to become effective on July 1,
2021, so “permit years” will coincide with the state fiscal year and annual reporting cycle.
2. General comment: Annual Reporting Metrics in Column D should be brief - a quantity, number
trained, Y/N/Status, date completed, etc. See SWMP Template Instructions and the new General
SWMP Guidance on the DEQ MS4 Forms & Resources web page for additional information.
Please change vague “and/or” statements to the specific reporting metric and “as needed” to
continuously.
Please note that the new permit will be issued with an annual reporting template that is specific to
the approved SWMP, and this information will be utilized to ensure that the MS4 is on track to
maintain compliance. The provided template will be an Excel spreadsheet, which will facilitate
future electronic reporting requirements, but will not support the submittal of additional
documentation such as agendas, documents, etc.
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3. Table 12: The permittee may elect to address mercury as a stormwater pollutant of concern.
However, please be aware that the statewide TMDL for Mercury is an air quality TMDL and is
not required to be addressed in the MS4 permit.
4. Table 13 Public Education and Outreach: Overall, the public education section is lacking specific
and measurable commitments to address the pollutants of concern and identified audiences. The
public education BMPs must specify what the permittee is proposing to do to meet the permit
requirements; and must be reviewed and approved by DEQ to be an enforceable component of
the permit.
Please be aware that while the permittee may elect to contract with another party to provide
services, the agreement between the two parties is not an enforceable component or requirement
of the MS4 permit. The MS4 is always the legally responsible party for non-compliance and any
failure of a third party to fulfill contractual agreements is not a consideration in determining
permit violations.
5. Table 13: Please define Stormwater SMART and PRTC either in the introduction, table or in a
paragraph above the table. SWMP audiences such as EPA and those outside the PRTC area will
not know what these are.
6. BMP 4.D.1: Report Yes/No/Partial and date of agreement.
7. BMP 4.C.: Is the partnership plan a different document than the legal agreement? If this is an
annual work plan type document, please schedule for implementation Annually in Permit Years
2-5.
8. BMP 4.B.3 and C.3: Please change “monitor” to evaluate and schedule for implementation to
Annually in Permit Years 2-5. In permitting terms, monitor implies analytical monitoring.
9. BMP 4.B.3: Include a measurable goal to establish an alternative agreement or other measures if
the SMART partnership is dissolved.
10. BMP 5.C.2 and 3: Include Permit Years 2-5 rather than “after handouts are developed” since that
is required in Permit Year 1.
11. BMP 5.D.2: Also report the number of contacts provided stormwater information during the
event.
12. BMP 6 and throughout: Rather than repeating measurable goals, please cross-reference the first
entry (e.g. Ref. BMP 4.B.1).
13. BMP 7: Include measurable goals to specifically post informational handouts, construction &
post-construction requirements, etc. to the web page. The measurable goals should provide a
checklist of specific actions/activities.
14. BMP 8: The hotline should support rapid response to complaints such as illicit discharges, which
are unlikely to be found if the response is delayed. A trained staff person should answer calls
during business hours and refer them to the appropriate party for response.
15. BMP 9 & 10: These two BMPs create a circular reference by referencing each other without any
specific measurable goals, implementation schedule or annual reporting metrics. Please resolve
and update other cross-references to these BMPs (BMP 20, 21, 25, 26, etc).
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16. BMP 11: Provide a specific minimum number of events.
17. BMP 15: This is confusing since Table 1 indicates that 100% of the MS4 is mapped already.
The MS4 Audit Report also indicates that the Town does not have a current MS4 map. Please
clarify. Also, please verify that the town only has one major outfall as listed in Table 1.
18. BMP 24: Please provide the ordinance reference for Forsyth County construction waste
management requirements or provide a measurable goal to develop these local authorities.
19. BMP 32: Define PEG.
20. Table 20, Permit Ref. 3.6.6: Please specifically address the requirements for onsite wastewater
(septic) proper operation & maintenance. The code reference to development and illicit
discharges does not address operation and maintenance. The intent of this permit requirement is
to proactively educate residents with onsite wastewater system in order to prevent illicit
discharges of sanitary waste.
21. BMP 33-37: The MS4 Audit Report indicates that the town already has a current inventory of
municipal facilities with potential for generating polluted runoff, but does not have O&M Plan(s)
for those facilities (Ref. Supporting Document 9: Town Owned Property Inventory). It is
recommended that inspections to verify pollution potential be conducted in Year 1, and facility
O&M plans be developed in Year 2. Include a measurable goal for annual inspection of all
facilities with pollution potential, an industrial stormwater permit, and/or a no exposure
exemption in Permit Years 2-5. Report number of inspections and number of corrective actions.
Please note that the MS4 permit and approved SWMP cannot defer compliance liability for
any other regulatory program. Industrial facilities that are subject to NPDES industrial
permitting are required to already be permitted. Operating without a permit is an NPDES
violation. If the town requires assistance identifying subject facilities, please contact the
Winston-Salem Regional Office. If the town owns/operates facilities subject to the federal SPCC
Program, then those facilities are currently in violation of the federal SPCC Program if they do
not have a current SPCC Plan in place.
22. BMP 35: Provide staff training measurable goal(s) and/or correct the BMP 6 cross-reference for
social media and mass media campaigns.
23. BMP 36: Correct the BMP 38 cross-reference for staff training.
24. BMP 37: Spill response procedures do not necessitate that a facility be subject to the SPCC
Program. A spill plan and SPCC Plan may be two different things. The MS4 Audit Report
indicates that there are facility spill response procedures in place (Ref. Supporting Document 10:
Lewisville PP-GH-SOP). Since facility stormwater pollution potential will be verified via
inspection in Permit Year 1, please commit to review/revise spill plans and train staff no later
than Permit Year 2.
25. BMP 38: Provide staff training measurable goal(s). Correct the BMP 6 cross-reference for social
media and mass media campaigns.
26. BMP 39: This BMP is insufficient to meet permit requirement 3.7.3 (MS4 O&M Program). The
SWMP must define measurable goals for staff training, MS4 inspections, and collection system
maintenance including specific frequencies, schedules and standard documentation. Typically, an
MS4 will provide a minimum commitment to inspect and maintain 20% of their collection system
each year and/or identify hotspots/areas for more frequent inspections and maintenance.
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27. BMP 40-41: The MS4 Audit Report indicates that the town does not currently own/operate any
municipal SCMs. It is preferable that town devote its limited resources towards gaining
compliance and simply commit to develop an inventory and O&M Program if/when the town
installs any SCMs. Report the number of municipal SCMs annually. If the number increases
above 0, then report if an O&M plan is in place (Yes/No/Partial), number of SCM inspections and
number of maintenance activities performed.
28. BMP 45: The proposed BMP is insufficient to demonstrate compliance with the draft permit
requirements in 3.7.7. Although the permittee contracts out the work, there must still be a defined
program for what will be done to control litter, leaves, debris, particulates and fluid pollutants
associated with vehicles, including specific frequencies, schedules and documentation. If the
contractor fails to implement the defined plan or the permittee fails to report on plan
implementation, then the permittee is liable for the violation. Most MS4s develop minimum
street sweeping, leaf collection, etc. and then utilize the data to revise and refine schedules/routes
over time.
The required revised Draft SWMP v2 submittal must include an electronic Word document in Track
Changes format, and a hard copy with a certifying statement and original “wet” signature by the Town’s
ranking elected official or designated staff member in compliance with Part IV, Paragraph G of the
current MS4 Permit.
Please submit the required signed Draft SWMP v2 to:

DEQ-DEMLR Stormwater Program
Attn: Jeanette Powell
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612
[e-mail]

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Should you have any questions, please contact me at
[phone] or [e-mail].

Sincerely,

Jeanette Powell
MS4 Program Coordinator

Cc via email:
Lindsey Lengyl, [e-mail]
Ryan Moser, [e-mail]
Annette Lucas, Stormwater Program Supervisor
Tamera Eplin, Winston-Salem Regional Office
Isaiah Reed, Asheville Regional Office
Zac Lentz, Winston-Salem Regional Office
Kimberley Turney, Winston-Salem Regional Office
DEMLR NPDES MS4 Permit Laserfiche File