and southern New England
Experience
Our MS4 Compliance experience ranges from assisting municipal clients cost effectively comply with existing permits, to designing innovative stormwater controls, to addressing flooding and water quality challenges (e.g., first green street designs in New England), to developing regulatory policy and design standards.
We consider long-term maintenance requirements when identifying appropriate stormwater treatment systems. We began incorporating Best Management Practices (BMPs) into our land development designs when stormwater quality first became an issue in the 1980s. Our designs range from conventional BMP methods, such as grassed swales, detention basins, and other proprietary systems, to alternatives such as sand filters, bioretention systems, and water quality buffers. We employ the latest investigative and design technology, including hydraulic/hydrologic computer models, and use GIS technology in the development of utility systems for quantity/quality assessments and alternatives for drainage and water quality mitigation.
Services
We offer a comprehensive suite of MS4 stormwater planning services to address the needs of regulated municipalities, both small and large, to meet the requirements of the MS4 program. Our approach, which has evolved from our experience with MS4 communities since the early 2000s, is based on several core principles that have helped our clients reduce costs while meeting permit requirements.
- Regionalization is a good opportunity for municipalities to reduce the cost of MS4 permit compliance.
- Financial resources for all of our municipal clients are limited.
- Impaired waters and future TMDLs always need to be considered or they could result in significant future
financial liability to the municipality. - Public participation can be valuable because it improves public awareness and provides additional resources
to improve water quality.
Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
Assist municipal governments and utilities with developing and implementing illicit discharge detection and elimination programs. These programs have addressed elevated dry weather bacteria concentrations in surface waters, beach and shellfish closures, and State specific MS4 Permit Requirements.
Stormwater Quality
Fuss & O’Neill has authored the Connecticut Stormwater Quality Manual, recent Low Impact Development design updates to the manual, and many municipal stormwater standards and regulations.
Stormwater Management Plans
We have developed dozens of stormwater management plans for municipalities throughout southern New England as required by their state-specific MS4 Permits. We also assist municipalities with implementation of their MS4 programs, including developing training and public education programs, preparing new land development regulations, mapping storm drainage systems, conducting illicit discharge detection and elimination surveys, and annual reporting to EPA and state agencies.
Ordinances
We have assisted municipalities in developing ordinances, regulations, and bylaws for prohibition of illicit connections, construction, erosion and sediment controls, and post-construction management.
Grants and Grant Management
We have assisted in obtaining grants for illicit discharge detection and elimination programs, as well as numerous requirements related to grant administration and management.
Workshops and Training Programs
We assist municipalities with all aspects of MS4 program implementation, including leading workshops and developing training programs. Training programs that we have developed include, a training workshop for municipal staff responsible for compliance with the Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination requirements and Good Housekeeping and Pollution Prevention requirements, as well as a series of short and long-format training videos. We have also developed written guidance materials including a sample written IDDE Plan, a sample municipal facility SWPPP, a sample maintenance plan for stormwater BMPs, and web resources on municipal code review checklists, stormwater bylaws, and stormwater retrofits.
Fuss & O’Neill staff presented an MS4 Workshop to the Town of Needham, MA on September 29, 2016.
Projects
 Bride Brook Restoration |
 Pawcatuck River Watershed Flood Resiliency Management Plan |
 Ninigret Pond Breachway Dredging and Salt Marsh Restoration |
 Farm Pond Coastal Restoration |
 Coastal Hazard Analysis & Resiliency Evaluation |
 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Water Quality Infrastructure |