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Water, sewer, and stormwaterLesson 7 of 21

Academy/Utilities & Infrastructure

Stormwater

Learn where federal stormwater rules stop and your board's actual pond maintenance duty begins.

Federal law regulates stormwater through NPDES permits issued to your city or county's storm sewer system, not directly to your association. If your community has a detention or retention pond, whether your board or your municipality maintains it depends on local ordinance and any recorded stormwater facility agreement, not on a national rule.

01

Federal rules cover the storm drain network, not your pond directly

The federal Clean Water Act's stormwater permit program, called NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System), regulates three kinds of dischargers: municipal storm sewer systems, construction sites, and industrial facilities. Your association is not one of those three. In practice, your community touches this program indirectly, as a property inside your city or county's permitted storm sewer system, not as a permit holder itself.

"The NPDES stormwater program regulates some stormwater discharges from three potential sources: municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), construction activities, and industrial activities. Operators of these sources might be required to obtain an NPDES permit before they can discharge stormwater."

Source: NPDES Stormwater Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

02

Your county likely has a permit whether anyone applied or not

An MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) permit is not optional above a certain size. Any urbanized area with 50,000 or more people is automatically covered, no application required. That permit must include six minimum control measures, and one of them is post-construction runoff control, the rules that shaped how your subdivision's ponds and drainage were designed in the first place.

"The Phase II rule automatically covers on a nationwide basis all small MS4s located in urban areas with a population of 50,000 or more people."

Source: Small MS4 Stormwater Program Overview, Factsheet 2.0, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

03

Maintenance is a local and contractual question, not a federal one

Federal rule requires your municipality's MS4 program to ensure long-term upkeep of stormwater controls, including retention and detention ponds. It does not say whether the municipality or your association actually does that work and pays for it. That split is set by your local stormwater ordinance and by any recorded stormwater facility maintenance agreement filed for your specific development; check both before assuming either answer.

Many drainage systems also run through recorded easements across common property. Keep those easements clear: a fence, shed, or landscaping installed over one can block the flow or the access a utility or your municipality needs to maintain the system.

"A program to ensure adequate long-term operation and maintenance of BMPs."

Source: National Menu of Best Management Practices for Stormwater, Post-Construction, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Check yourself

Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.

Your subdivision's retention pond is choked with cattails and the outlet is clogged. Who does federal law say must maintain it?

A homeowner wants to sue your association under the federal NPDES stormwater program because runoff from the community parking lot reaches a nearby creek. What does federal law say about who holds the permit?

A board member says stormwater permits only apply to big cities, and your county of 60,000 residents does not need one because nobody applied for it. What does the federal rule actually say?

Sources

Utilities & Infrastructure

Curious what else runs through your common area on a recorded easement? See Utility easements.

Whether your association or your municipality is responsible for maintaining a stormwater pond, and which local ordinance or permit governs it, varies by city and county and by your community's own recorded stormwater facility agreement.