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001045 It's. the Right achievable: they began to build long-term relationships among the great diversity of people who Thing ~o Do! live in our state. Judging from the extensive evaluations returned at the dose of the Forum, most (continued) agree that the Governor's Forum on Water Quality Protection can become the foundation for building Kansans' efforts to prevent nonpoint source pollution and protect water quality for many years to come. [The 14 recommendations from the Forum have been published by the Kansas Water Office in the Special Legislative Issue of the Hydrogram. For a free copy, call (888) Kan-Water or e-mail jgottsch@kwo.state.ks.us. The Kansas Water Office web site is wwwkwo.org.] Notes on the National Scene Final Storm Water Phase II Rules Approved; Implementation Scheduled Through 2008 After more than four years of stakeholder meetings and consideration of public comments, EPA is issuing the final version of storm water regulations for small urbanized areas and construction sites covering less than five acres. The Storm Water Phase II Rule, which was signed by EPA Administrator Carol Browner on October 29, 1999, and published in the Federal Register on December 8, 1999, will bring municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) serving fewer than 100,000 people and small construction sites into the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program by March 2003. Implementation of municipal storm water programs outlined in the NPDES permits will be phased in by 2008. Phase II small construction site regulations require NPDES permits and compliance with best management practices to minimize pollutant runoff on sites disturbing from one to five acres. Many of these sites are already covered by state of local erosion and sediment control programs, and EPA officials note that most NPDES permitting for construction sites will be handled through general permits that outline pollution prevention strategies and best management practice (BMP) approaches. Building on the Clean Water Act Congress required regulations for storm water discharges that affect water quality under the Clean Water Act amendments of 1987. EPA dealt with the largest urbanized areas and large construction sites under the initial phase of the storm water program, adopted in 1990. Phase I required NPDES discharge permits for medium and large MS4s (populations greater than 100,000), 11 categories of industrial sites, and construction activities on five or more acres. The permits could either be tailored to an individual facility and its activities or issued as a general permit covering a whole category of facilities or activities within an individual state. Individual permits prescribe specific requirements for a particular discharger or group of dischargers and involve facility- and site-specific characterization, management practices, and compliance monitoring. General permits contain a common set of requirements for a wide universe of dischargers, providing guidance and recommended management practices designed to minimize or eliminate water quality degradation. Most of the MS4s and some industrial facilities applied for individual permits; general permits covered most construction sites and the remainder of the industrial facilities. Facilities that have industrial materials or activities that are not exposed to rain and snow are exempt from the regulations, and Congress exempted coverage of all industrial activities operated by small municipalities (populations less than 100,000) until August 7, 2001. The final Phase II Rule was part of a federal court consent order that settled a 1995 lawsuit filed against EPA by the Natural Resources Defense Council to enforce deadlines in the CWA The legal action drove EPA's schedule to develop the Phase II Rule. Many cities and towns in urbanized areas have already been addressing polluted runoff through state and local NPS control programs, coastal zone protection efforts, and other dean water initiatives. MARCH 2000, ISSUE #60 NONPOINT SOURCE NEWS-NOTES 3