Storm Water Program

Overview

The Storm Water Program permits discharges of pollutants in storm water runoff to waters of the United States under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System in two main program areas: Phase I and II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) and Industrial; construction is a major Industrial category. A general permit approach is used to reduce pollutants from reaching surface waters by requiring specified control measures for:

• Discharges of pollutants in storm water and non-storm water, including sediment
• Preventing exposure of pollutant sources to storm water
• Preventing alterations to hydrology affecting sediment loads in local waters
• Erosion and pollutant discharges from construction and roadways/operations

Phase I MS4s: Four in the Lake Tahoe basin, including Caltrans-Lake Tahoe.
Phase II (Small) MS4s: Non-Tahoe Caltrans, two in the Truckee River basin, and seven in the Mojave River basin.
Industrial and Construction: Approximately 245 and 360, respectively (the latter varies annually).

Approximately four positions are allocated, including one for Lake Tahoe MS4 permitting and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) oversight.

The Storm Water Fact Sheet provides more information on the Goals, Accomplishments, and Performance Targets.

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Permits, Guidance, Other

Permits

• Construction Storm Water NPDES Permit for the Tahoe Basin for Remainder of 2016
• Construction Storm Water NPDES Permit for the Tahoe Basin Effective January 1, 2017
• Lake Tahoe Municipal NPDES Storm Water Permit
• Lahontan Region General Permits

Guidance

• Storm Water Planning Guidance Documents
• Guidance for Linking Users on SMARTS Storm Water Accounts
• Guidance for Submitting Storm Water Sampling Data in SMARTS
• Lake Tahoe Construction General Permit Recertification Guidance

Other

• Variance Requests for Land Disturbance Prohibition Period
• State Water Resources Control Board (SB) Storm Water Program