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NPDES Update

NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES)

   The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is one of the environmental programs that was established when the President signed Clean Water Act (CWA) into law.  The CWA and its various environmental programs were enacted to protect the Nation’s waters.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the entity that is charged with developing, implementing and enforcing regulations consistent with this law.  The NPDES Rules and Regulations (Section 402) prohibit the discharge of pollutants into the Nation’s waters without a permit from the EPA. 

     Makalapa Elementary is impacted by the CWA law and the NPDES rules and regulations because of the culvert and drainage system that is within our boundaries, and the storm water drainage system that we have on campus.  To assist schools to be in compliance with the rules and regulations, the Dept of Education has contracted a private agency to survey each school and to submit a report on their findings.  This report addresses the “Individual Permit Coverage, Discharges of Storm Water and Certain Non-storm Water from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4)”.  

     The report submitted to the DOE and to the school provides information for the school that:

  • -identifies the non-storm water discharges and the disposal methods.
  • -indicates the NPDES permit that is on file with the Dept. of Health Clean Water Branch.
  • -lists the location(s) of storage areas that are exposed to storm water.
  • -lists the location(s) of non-storm water discharge.
  • -includes maps if the site layout, topography, drainage basins and storm water system.
  • -includes the Storm Water Management Plan.

     As part of the MS4 requirements we are mandated to follow the Storm Water Management Plan that is mentioned above.  There are six elements that comprise this plan that when implemented together are intended to reduce or eliminate entirely the discharge of pollutants into the environment.  Makalapa Elementary is responsible to implement the six elements of the Plan:

  • Public education and outreach,
  • Public involvement/participation,
  • Illicit discharge detection and elimination,
  • Construction site runoff control,
  • Post-construction storm water management in new development and redevelopment, and
  • Pollution prevention/good housekeeping.

     The Plan also includes Attachments with the following information specific to Makalapa Elementary: identifies the minimum control measures, describes the Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address for our site-specific needs, an implementation schedule and measurable goals to quantify our progress of program implementation.  In addition, we are required to submit an annual report by the second Friday in December.  Following these guidelines will ensure that we remain in compliance with federal law. 

     We are continually monitoring and addressing the requirements of the Plan by monitoring our storm water runoff, capturing images of the open discharge points (drains), and keeping them free of debris and illicit discharge. Makalapa campus has just 4 open discharge points; campus building runoff is discharged into closed drains. The campus grounds runoff in general goes towards several areas:

West: concrete swale on the H1 freeway side of the chain-link fence bordering campus.

South: minor runoff into Radford High School campus.                                                   

East: down the main driveway  exiting into Salt Lake Boulevard.                                 

North: minimal runoff into military controlled land adjacent to H1 freeway.

The four discharge point drains will be cleaned of debris and grass, and stenciled within the next month with the caption "Dump No Waste: Goes to Ocean." Makalapa will continue to abide by the NPDES rules and regulations, and follow the MS4 Management Plan.