New MS4 Permit Boilerplate Provisions Make Compliance Impossible and Create Significant Liability Where None Should Exist

In light of the scarcity of municipal separate storm sewer systems (“MS4”) regulations, permitting actions throughout the country by states and/or EPA have resulted in the issuance of MS4s permits with requirements that will result in immediate and long-term noncompliance with no hope of compliance. In particular, new permit conditions purporting to implement water quality standards compliance are inconsistent with applicable NPDES rules, the statutory maximum extent practicable (“MEP”) standard, the MS4 iterative process for ultimately meeting water quality standards and ignore cost-benefit analyses. Failure to eliminate these provisions will unnecessarily create massive municipal liability and allow citizen suit enforcement where none should occur or exist on these issues.