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On April 20, 2010, EPA published in the Federal Register a Notice of Availability of the draft NPDES General Permit for Residually Designated Discharges in the Charles River Watershed with the municipalities of Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin and a Notice of Availability of Proposed Amendments to the Preliminary Residual Designation issued by EPA-Region 1 on November 12, 2008. Also on April 20, 2010, EPA published in the Federal Register and in local papers an announcement of a public comment period on the proposed general permit. The public comment period initially ran from April 20, 2010 to June 30, 2010, but was extended to September 30, 2010.

The proposed permit is for designated storm water discharges within the towns of Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin, Massachusetts, from sites with two or more acres of impervious areas. These sites were designated under EPA's residual designation authority pursuant to CWA §402(p) and 40 CFR §122.26(9)(i)(C) and (D). EPA has proposed designation of these sources because EPA has determined that their control is necessary in order to reduce discharges of excessive phosphorus loadings that are contributing to excessive algae and aquatic plant growth and violations of water quality standards in the Charles River.

The proposed permit requires a series of storm water controls, mostly in the form of Best Management Practices (BMP) designed to reduce the phosphorus loadings. The proposed requirements include the development and implementation of a comprehensive Storm Water Management Plan and a Phosphorus Reduction Plan that are intended to assure that storm water from a designated discharge site do not cause or contribute to violations of standards.

Final Permit Decision

EPA received numerous comments on the proposed draft general permit. EPA will release a Response to Comments documents with the final permit. The requirements associated with this proposed general permit are interrelated with the requirements of the proposed small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System General Permits that also address phosphorus loading to the Charles River. EPA will issue a final decision on the general permit and proposed designation following the release of the Small MS4 General Permit for Massachusetts, anticipated in late 2012 or early 2013. Due to the significant amount of comments received and the importance of consistency among interrelated general permits, EPA may also choose to renotice this general permit. If EPA chooses to renotice this general permit, a Notice of Availability of the draft general permit will be published in the Federal Register. When a final permit is issued, a Notice of Availability of the final permit decision will be published in the Federal Register. The final permit, response to comments and other relevant materials will be posted on this website.

Preliminary Residual Designation

• Preliminary Residual Designation for Charles River, dated Nov. 12 2008
• Executive Summary of Preliminary Residual Designation for Charles River
• Federal Register Notice and Public Comment Opportunity on Preliminary Residual Designation: The public may comment during the eventual permit review process.

Proposed Amendments to the Preliminary Residual Designation

• Proposed Amendments to the Preliminary Residual Designation for Charles River (PDF) (4 pp, 27 K)

Federal Register Notice for Draft General Permit for Residually Designated Discharges in Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin, Massachusetts and for Proposed Amendments to the Preliminary Residual Designation

• Federal Register Notice (PDF) (3 pp, 66 K)

Draft General Permit for Residually Designated Discharges in Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin, Massachusetts

• Draft General Permit (PDF) (23 pp, 99 K)
• Appendix A - Requirements for Notice of Intent (PDF) (8 pp, 46 K)
• Appendix B - Definition of Permit Terms (PDF) (7 pp, 32 K)
• Appendix C - Individual and Alternative Permits (PDF) (1 pg, 14 K)
• Appendix D - Phosphorus Reduction Requirement (PDF) (10 pp, 46 K)
  • Appendix D - Attachment 1 Method to Calculate Annual Phosphorus Load for the Designated Discharge (DD) Site (PDF) (4 pp, 32 K)
  • Appendix D - Attachment 2 Phosphorus Reduction Credits for Selected Enhanced Non-Structural BMPs at the Designated Discharge (DD) Site (PDF) (6 pp, 51 K)
  • Appendix D - Attachment 3 Methods to Calculate Phosphorus Load Reductions for Structural Storm Water Best Management Practices at a Designated Discharge (DD) Site (PDF) (38 pp, 354 K)
• Appendix E - Eligibility Procedures Relating to Historic Properties Preservation (PDF) (5 pp, 35 K)
• Appendix F - Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (PDF) (4 pp, 176 K)
• Appendix G - Standard Permit Conditions (PDF) (7 pp, 44 K)
• Fact Sheet (PDF) (54 pp, 346 K)
• Fact Sheet Attachment 1 - Preliminary Designation Record of Decision of November 12, 2008 (PDF) (28 pp, 399 K)
• Fact Sheet Attachment 2 - Antidegradation Findings (PDF) (9 pp, 57 K)
• Fact Sheet Attachment 3 - Basis for Phosphorus Reduction Requirement (PDF) (12 pp, 94 K)
• Fact Sheet Attachment 4 - Proposed Final Residual Designation Amendments (PDF) (4 pp, 28 K)

Helpful Information and Links

• Summary of Permit Requirements (PDF) (9 pp, 1.9 MB)
• Approval Letter for the Lower Charles River Basin Nutrient (Phosphorus) TMDL October 17, 2007 (PDF) (29 pp, 121 K)
• Final TMDL for Nutrients in the Lower Charles River Basin, Massachusetts (PDF) (196 pp, 1.8 MB)
• Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Performance Analysis, Revised March 2010 (PDF) (232 pp, 3.6 MB)
• Optimal Stormwater Management Plan Alternatives: A Demonstration Project in Three Upper Charles River Communities, December 2009
• Urban Rivers in New England – Charles River
• Draft Massachusetts North Coastal Small MS4 General Permit
• National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places web site
• Stormwater Pollution Tackled to Improve Water Quality in Charles River (Press Release)
• Letter - Notice of Residual Designation, Draft Storm water Permit and Public Meetings (PDF) (5 pp, 29 K)
• Attachment 1 - Preliminary Identification of Designated Discharge Properties in the Charles River Watershed in Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin, MA (Updated April 29, 2010) (PDF) (13 pp, 385 K)
• Attachment 2 – Certification that property does not meet the Designated Discharge definition (Word) (1 pg, 35 K)
• May 12, 2010 Public Meeting Presentation (PDF) (62 pp, 7.5 MB)
• Presentation from Information Sessions Sponsored by the 495/MetroWest Partnership (PDF) (40 pp, 1.1 MB)
• Summary of RDD General Permit Requirements - Revised August 18, 2010 (PDF) (5 pp, 67 K)

EPA Contact

Mark Voorhees (voorhees.mark@epa.gov), 617-918-1537

Sustainable Stormwater Funding Project

In September 2010, EPA provided approximately $300,000 in funding to conduct an evaluation of sustainable stormwater funding options for the Upper Charles River communities of Bellingham, Franklin and Milford, Massachusetts. The objective of the sustainable funding project is to develop recommendations on integrated funding options for implementing and managing the requirements set forth in the Region 1 Administrator's preliminary decision that a more stringent small municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) general permit and a residual designation general permit to reduce stormwater discharges from industrial, commercial and large residential properties are necessary to meet the TMDL. As this project develops, interested members of the public can check this page to find the current status of the project, view summaries of project meetings notes and other documents, and review and provide comments, if any, on the draft and final project report. The project concluded on September 30, 2011 with receipt of the final report (below).

• Project Work Assignment and Work Plan:
  • Project Work Assignment (PDF) (9 pg, 160 K)
  • Project Workplan (PDF) (12 pp, 185 K)
• Meeting Agenda and Notes:
  • Steering Committee Meeting #1 Agenda (October 20, 2010) (PDF) (1 pg, 24 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #1 Notes (October 20, 2010) (PDF) (2 pp, 126 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #2 Agenda (November 15, 2010) (PDF) (1 pg, 26 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #2 Notes (November 15, 2010) (PDF) (4 pp, 133 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #3 Agenda (February 9, 2011) (PDF) (1 pg, 20 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #3 Notes (February 9, 2011) (PDF) (4 pp, 136 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #4 Agenda (June 29, 2011) (PDF) (1 pg, 21 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #4 Notes (June 29, 2011) (PDF) (5 pp, 138 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #5 Agenda (September 12, 2011) (PDF) (1 pg, 19 K)
  • Steering Committee Meeting #5 Notes (September 12, 2011) (PDF) (3 pp, 131 K)
• Additional Project Information (presentations, correspondence, announcements):
  • November 12, 2010 Letter from I495 Partnership, NAIOP and AIM (PDF) (3 pp, 253 K)
  • November 15, 2010 AMEC Presentation on Regional Stormwater Utilities (PDF) (5 pp, 481 K)
  • November 15, 2010 Horsley Witten Presentation on Sustainable Funding (PDF) (24 pp, 1.2 MB)
  • November 15, 2010 Horsley Witten Factsheet on Project Framework (PDF) (2 pp, 207 K)
  • December 6, 2010 MAPC Announcement for Bellingham - Funding Stormwater Management (PDF) (1 pg, 256 K)
  • December 6, 2010 MAPC Announcement for Franklin - Funding Stormwater Management (PDF) (1 pg, 257 K)
  • December 7, 2010 MAPC Announcement for Milford - Funding Stormwater Management (PDF) (1 pg, 256 K)
  • December 6-7, 2010 MAPC Presentation on Funding Stormwater Management (PDF) (30 pp, 2 MB)
  • February 9, 2011 Horsley Witten Presentation on Preliminary Cost Findings (PDF) (54 pp, 5.9 MB)
  • June 29, 2011 Horsley Witten/AMEC Presentation (PDF) (59 pp, 1.9 MB)
  • June 29, 2011 Bellingham Program Cost Data (PDF) (8 pp, 226 K)
  • June 29, 2011 Franklin Program Cost Data (PDF) (8 pp, 232 K)
  • June 29, 2011 Milford Program Cost Data (PDF) (8 pp, 255 K)
  • September 12, 2011 Horsley Witten Presentation on Draft Report (PDF) (34 pp, 2.1 MB)
• Helpful Information and Links:
  • December 2004 - U.S. Army Corps - Draft Report on Aquatic Habitat Restoration of Milford Pond (PDF) (166 pp, 16.7 MB)
  • December 2004 - U.S. Army Corps - Draft Report Appendices (PDF) (282 pp, 24.9 MB)
  • July 2007 - U.S. Army Corps - Milford Pond Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project - Construction Solicitation and Specifications (PDF) (126 pp, 8.8 MB)
  • Stormwater Management Plan for Spruce Pond Brook Subwatershed (PDF) (54 pp, 10.8 MB) Exit
  • November 2007 - ECONorthwest - LID Economics Literature Review (PDF) (40 pp, 429 K) Exit
  • November 2008 - ECONorthwest - Cost Benefit Evaluation of Ecoroofs (PDF) (37 pp, 703 K) Exit
  • June 2010 - Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey (PDF) (46 pp, 3.5 MB) Exit
  • December 2010 - MAPC Stormwater Funding Resource Guide (PDF) (15 pp, 632 K)
  • April 2009 - EPA Fact Sheet: Funding Stormwater Programs (PDF) (6 pp, 318 K)
  • Bellingham, Massachusetts Exit
  • Franklin, Massachusetts Exit
  • Milford, Massachusetts Exit
  • 495 / Metrowest Partnership Exit
  • Metropolitan Area Planning Counsel Exit
• Report on Sustainable Stormwater Funding Project:
  • August 25, 2011 Horsley Witten Memo Summarizing Notable Adjustments Arising from June 29, 2011 Steering Committee Meeting (PDF) (4 pp, 84 K)
  • August 25, 2011 Horsley Witten Draft Report on Sustainable Stormwater Funding Evaluation (PDF) (165 pp, 23.2 MB)
  • August 25, 2011 Horsley Witten Draft Report on Sustainable Stormwater Funding Evaluation - Appendices (PDF) (106 pp, 4 MB)
  • September 30, 2011 Horsley Witten Memo Summarizing Notable Adjustments Arising from Comments Received on the Draft Report (PDF) (3 pp, 84 K)
  • September 30, 2011 Sustainable Stormwater Funding Project: FINAL REPORT (PDF) (174 pp, 19.7 MB)
  • September 30, 2011 Sustainable Stormwater Funding Project: FINAL REPORT APPENDICES (PDF) (126 pp, 4.7 MB)
• Fact Sheet
  • Four page fact sheet summarizing the final report for the general public (PDF) (4 pp, 933 K)

Project Contact:
Ray Cody (cody.ray@epa.gov), 617-918-1366