Section 096-500-8 - Municipal or quasi-municipal stormwater management programsThe Department may allow a municipality or a quasi-municipal organization, such as a watershed management district, to substitute a management system for stormwater for the stormwater permit requirement pursuant to 38 M.R.S. §420-D(2). The management system may apply to an entire watershed, or a portion of a watershed and may include multiple watersheds within the jurisdiction of the municipality or quasi-municipal organization. A project located within the area served by a management system approved by the Department is exempt from the stormwater permit requirements contained in this Chapter. For Site Law redevelopment projects only, and for the purposes of meeting the stormwater standard of 38 M.R.S. §484(4-A), the standards for stormwater management in Section 420-D are met if the proposed development is located in a designated area served by a Department-approved management system for stormwater as described in Section 420-D(2), as long as the owner or operator of the parcel upon which the proposed development will be located enters into or obtains and remains in compliance with all agreements, permits and approvals necessary for the proposed development to be served by such management system for stormwater.
The municipality or quasi-municipality may elect to have the substitution take effect at the time the system is approved by the Department, or at the time the system is completed as provided in the implementation schedule provided by the Department.
A stormwater management system may not substitute for an aspect of a project that is required to meet the infiltration standards described in Appendix D of this Chapter or required to obtain a waste discharge permit.
A.Stormwater management systemapproval criteria. The Department may review and approve a stormwater management system submitted by a municipality or a quasi-municipal organization, such as a watershed management district, to meet this exemption, provided that the municipality or quasi-municipal organization demonstrates that the following criteria are met. (1)Relationship to water quality. The municipality or quasi-municipal organization shall have a stormwater treatment system that, upon implementation, will result in the collective treatment of stormwater from new and existing sources within the watershed and will result in water quality in the receiving water that is as good, or better, than would be achieved with stormwater permits issued by the Department for individual projects. The stormwater system may apply to an entire watershed, or a portion of a watershed and may include multiple watersheds within the jurisdiction of the municipality or quasi-municipal organization.(2)Funding and implementation. The stormwater management system must include funding provisions and an implementation schedule that provides that the treatment system for new and existing sources will be in place and functioning within five years unless a longer time period, not to exceed 10 years, is approved by the Department.(3)Annual reporting. The stormwater management system must also include a provision for annual reporting by the municipality or quasi-municipal organization to the Department on progress toward implementation and a listing of the new developed area within the jurisdiction of the stormwater management system.B. Reinstatement of permit requirement.The Department may reinstate the stormwater permit requirement if it finds that the implementation schedule is not being met, or that either the stormwater management system or associated stormwater treatment system is not achieving the plan's objectives.06- 096 C.M.R. ch. 500, § 8