Stormwater Management Program Plan

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted Phase II Storm Water regulations in March of 2003. These regulations require municipalities who own and operate separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) to comply with six minimum measures to improve water quality.

1. Public  Education & Outreach
2. Public Involvement
3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
4. Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control
5. Post-Construction Storm Water Management
6. Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping procedures for Municipal Operations

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was charged by the EPA to issue permits to municipalities across the state that require compliance with the Federal regulations. The regulations require each MS4 to submit an annual report to the NYS DEC in June of each year, the public comment period begins around May 1st of each year. The annual report captures compliance activities for the year and is kept on file in the office of the Town Clerk and also available on line at the link below for public viewing.

The Town of Henrietta has been working in cooperation with the State of New York, County of Monroe and all nineteen towns and ten villages to develop procedures, policies and practices to improve water quality.  Developers, contractors, engineers and municipalities are all required to follow the regulations during and after development.

Below are links to other resources about storm water as well as the Town of Henrietta’s Code Chapter 236 on Stormwater Management:

• Town Code Chapter 236
• Monroe County Pure Waters
• Monroe County Storm Water Coalition & Annual Report
• H2O Hero
• NYS DEC - Stormwater
• EPA

Illicit Discharges

Federal regulations define an illicit discharge as “...any discharge to an municipal sewer that is not composed entirely of stormwater...” with some exceptions. These exceptions include discharges from permitted industrial sources and discharges from fire-fighting activities. Illicit discharges are considered “illicit” because municipalities are not designed to accept, process, or discharge such non-stormwater wastes.

Sources of Illicit Discharges Include; sanitary wastewater, effluent from septic tanks, car wash wastewaters, improper oil disposal, radiator flushing disposal, laundry wastewaters, spills from roadway accidents, household toxins and food wastes.

To report an illicit discharge:

1. Observe from a safe distance. DO NOT touch or inhale the substance.
2. Notify 
   • Weekdays between 9am - 5pm the town engineering department at (585) 359-7070, or by email at engineering@henrietta.org
   • In case of emergency call 911
3. Provide the following information
   • your name and contact information
   • discovery location and date/time
   • description of the illicit material, with a source if known
   • estimate extent of the problem - slow trickle vs. significant flow

The sooner we learn about these incidents, the better our chances of finding the source and correcting the problem.