Spring Has Sprung! Stormwater Reminders

Category: Build-Remodel-Topics
04/15/2021

As the weather continues warming, rain falls and snow melts. The HBA of F-M has gathered tips, resources and links from several local city officials to assist in ensuring your jobsites comply with stormwater runoff ordinances.

Additionally, HBA of F-M hosted a lunch session with an expert from the state of North Dakota covering stormwater best practices. A recording is available for $15.

• Click here to complete the registration process.
• A video and handout will be emailed to you. Contact Krista Mund at (701) 232-5846 if you need assistance.

STATEWIDE

North Dakota

Review homebuilder guidelines for erosion and sediment control.

 FARGO

Kevin Morlan | Stormwater Technician | 701-730-8655

With the early spring weather upon us, active construction sites need to have all best management practices for stormwater runoff in place. All residential building sites are automatically issued an erosion & sediment control permit when applying for a building permit.

All commercial sites are permitted by the city of Fargo’s stormwater inspector. All residential sites are patrolled on a weekly basis for compliance.

Violations for noncompliance are issued by email so please provide current up-to-date email contacts at the permitting process. Failure to correct a specific infraction within 48 hours will result in a $60 fine.

All commercial sites will have at least one site inspection during the construction season to meet the requirements.

HORACE

Keith Asheim | Building Inspector | 701-492-2972

As the city of Horace grows, so is our storm water management program.  We have recently added storm water management information to our website, and we will be continuing to add information as needed.

When working in city of Horace limits or in our extraterritorial jurisdiction, contractors are required to comply. The city will be performing compliance checks, so in addition to onsite compliance, please be prepared to provide documentation and reports that are given to you by the city and your North Dakota Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the state. This includes applications, methods of control, timelines, inspections and logs.

I would like to thank you all for your patience this year. During March alone, we issued what is the equivalent of half of the new single-family dwelling permits that were issued in total for last year.  We will continue to work towards reviewing applications and carrying out inspections promptly, although please plan accordingly that we are currently experiencing a delay in issuing permits due to demand.

WEST FARGO

Chad Zander | Program Manager | 701-433-5400

The city of West Fargo would like to remind contractors and homebuilders that, as the ground thaws, all stormwater best management practices must be in place and maintained. Please ensure that your construction sites all have erosion control devices installed and are capable to handling stormwater runoff.

The most common violation in the springtime is tracking sediment into city streets. If the ground is soft and muddy the best option is to stay off until it has time to dry. Using your construction entrance will also help ensure sediment doesn’t get tracked into the street.

The city of West Fargo has a “mud ordinance” in which any sediment that is tracked into the street, causing a safety issue, can be ticketed. Large mud chunks must be removed immediately and smaller sediment must be cleaned up by the end of the day.

Please ensure that your contractors and subcontractors are aware of West Fargo’s parking restrictions and spring load restrictions.

STATEWIDE

Minnesota

Review homebuilder guidelines for erosion and sediment control.

DILWORTH

L. Peyton Mastera | City Administrator | 218-287-2313

Storm water ordinances or enforcement priorities have not changed in Dilworth. That said, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a new storm water pollution prevention plan permit application up for renewal for MS4 cities.

These permits are renewed every five years and we’ve enlisted Moore Engineering to help set up a comprehensive Office Share site so we can better inventory violations and manage our local program. I believe this will lead to a more stream-lined approach in Dilworth; so, typical “run of the mill” type items like perimeter control with bio-rolls will be more of an emphasis for us to monitor and report, with the better setup we will have.

MOORHEAD

Andrea J. Crabtree Nayes, CFM  | Utilities Engineer | 218-299-5387

Reminders for builders working in Moorhead:

• Don’t forget your best management practices for your site and your Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Subdivision registration form.   
• Your lot will need to be subdivided off from the MPCA General Stormwater Permit for the subdivision.
• Keep your site clean and chemicals properly stored to prevent pollution to the storm sewer system. 
• Remove tracking by the end of each working day. If large chunks are coming off of equipment, tracking must be removed from city streets several times per day.
• Common BMP violations include maintenance and inspection records.  Make sure that you are inspecting your site once per week or within 24 hours of a half inch rain event. 
• Don’t forget to give the new homeowner the MPCA Homeowner Fact sheet and leave the BMPs in place when closing on a property.

compiled by Mark Puppe, HBA Communications & Public Affairs Strategist