Stormwater Management

The Town of Farragut first received coverage under the NPDES General Permit for Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) in 2003. The Town has implemented several programs and standard procedures to achieve the minimum measures set forth in the permit. The Notice of Intent document outlines what the Town plans to do over the next several years to meet the permit requirements.

Public Education & Participation

The Town is required to implement a public education and outreach program that focuses on the steps the public can take to minimize the discharge pollutants to streams. Additionally, the Town must implement a public involvement/participation program, which includes providing a mechanism for citizen reporting of illegal spillage, dumping, or otherwise illicit disposal of materials into the MS4 system. 

The following are activities the Town currently implements to achieve this requirement.

• Publish an article in Talk of the Town once per year
• Provide general stormwater informational brochure in annual reports
• Maintain a social media presence (Farragut Stormwater on Facebook)
• Maintain stormwater-related website
• Conduct Hot Spot outreach by mailing industry-specific brochures and conducting training as needed
• Maintain trained staff
• Operate stream clean-up program (Adopt-A-Stream)
• Maintain Stormwater Advisory Committee, a citizen-based committee that supports Town staff
• Conduct special projects and activities (invasive species removal, tree plantings, tree giveaways, presentations, etc.), as possible 
• Implement volunteer program and track participation
• Post meeting agendas, minutes, etc.

Brochures and other documentation developed for this requirement are available on the sidebar.

Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination

The Town is required to implement and enforce a program to track down and eliminate sources of pollution & illegal dumping in the community. To achieve specific permit requirements, the Town conducts the following projects:

• Develop and maintain a Geographic Information System-based storm sewer system map that shows the location of system outfalls into waters of the state or storm sewer systems owned or operated by another MS4 jurisdiction. Town staff and AmeriCorps members have completed an initial map of stormwater inlets and outfalls. The Town has contracted the University of Tennessee Water Resources Research Center to conduct additional mapping and to assess the condition and longevity of its stormwater infrastructure,
• After a period of dry weather, Town staff conducts inspections of priority outfalls to determine if illicit discharges are present. 
• Town staff has defined and identified hot spot properties (those with practices more likely to cause pollution). Owners and managers of these properties will receive targeted education and, possibly, site inspections to ensure pollution prevention measures are being implemented properly. 
• Through the Town's citizen request system or by phone, the public can report suspected illicit discharges. 
• Town staff conduct visual assessments of select stream segments each year to identify problem locations and possible pollution sources. In addition, the Town conducts biological monitoring and E.coli testing to identify and track other indicators of stream health.

Construction Site Runoff

The Town must implement a construction site stormwater runoff pollutant control program that addresses reductions of pollutants in stormwater runoff from construction activities that result in a land disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre (or less than one acre if part of a larger plan of common development or sale). To achieve specific permit requirements, the following procedures and requirements are in place:

• The Town's stormwater ordinance requires construction site operators to control waste at construction sites within the jurisdiction. Additionally, site design must be consistent with the requirements of the current Tennessee Construction General Permit.
• Construction site operators must implement appropriate erosion prevention and sediment control best management practices consistent with those described in the TDEC EPSC Handbook.
• The Town maintains an inventory of actively permitted public and private construction sites.
• Specific procedures exist for construction site plan review and approval, including an evaluation of plan completeness and overall BMP effectiveness. Plan reviewers maintain certification for the Tennessee Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control
  Design Course, Level 2 or equivalent.
• Site plan review procedures include a public meeting to provide public access to and the ability to comment on site plans.
• Town staff conducts regular inspections of active construction sites to evaluate and document construction site compliance. Inspectors maintain certification under the Tennessee Fundamentals of Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control, Level 1.
• Town staff conducts on-stie, pre-construction meetings with construction site operators to ensure erosion protection and sediment control measures are properly in place before construction commences.

Permanent Stormwater Management

The Town must implement a permanent stormwater management program focused on removing pollutants from stormwater discharges through management practices, control techniques and system, design and engineering methods. To achieve specific permit requirements, the following procedures and requirements are in place:

• The Town's stormwater ordinance requires that sites incorporate post-construction stormwater controls to meet drainage and water quality requirements. Permanent stormwater control measures must be consistent with those described in the Tennessee Permanent Stormwater Management and Design Guidance Manual.
• The review and approval of development site plans requires multiple Town committees and inter-departmental consultations between Town staff.
• Town staff are present throughout construction to ensure stormwater control measures are properly installed. 
• Town staff maintain a system to inventory and track the status of all public and private stormwater control measures.
• Encourage the use of low impact development (LID) practices, such as permeable pavers and bioinfiltration areas.

Municipal Good Housekeeping

In addition to pollution prevention measures on private property, the Town is responsible for stormwater-related practices on its own property. To maintain compliance with the MS4 permit, the Town must implement an operation and maintenance program with the ultimate goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from municipal operations. to achieve this task, the Town conducts the following:

• Employees that handle, generate and/or store materials which constitute a potential pollutant of concern receive training on best practices for pollution prevention.
• Staff involved in the review, installation and maintenance of stormwater best management practices are kept current on sediment and erosion control installation and maintenance techniques.
• Operation and Maintenance Plans (or Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans) are maintained for each municipal facility.
• Annual municipal facility inspections are conducted to ensure proper function and of stormwater infrastructure and to identify potential pollution sources originated on Town properties.
• The Town conducts street sweeping, the removal of animal waste from receptacles in Town parks, and quarterly maintenance of catch basins.