Stormwater Manager's Resource Center FAQs

What is SMRC?

The SMRC (Stormwater Manager's Resource Center) website was designed by the Center for Watershed Protection under a grant from EPA, Office of Wastewater Management. The primary purpose of this website is to provide NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Phase II communities with the technical tools and techniques to comply with current EPA regulations.

What is the Practice of Watershed Protection?

The Practice of Watershed Protection is a compilation of articles from Watershed Protection Techniques, a journal published by the Center for Watershed Protection. It includes articles from 11 issues of the journal. Under the EPA grant, 1,500 copies of the document will be provided free to Phase II communities, and an additional 1,500 copies will be provided free in Part 2 of this particular grant.

What is Phase II?

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, EPA has worked to preserve, protect and improve the nation's water resources through control of polluted stormwater runoff. NPDES, Phase I covered medium and large municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) generally serving populations of 100,000 or greater; construction activity disturbing 5 acres of land or greater; and, ten categories of industrial activity.

Phase II expand the Phase I program by requiring additional operators of MS4s in urbanized areas and operators of small construction sites to implement programs and practices to control polluted stormwater runoff. Phase II covers operators of small MS4s in urbanized areas as defined by the Bureau of Census (which is all MS4s not already covered in Phase I) and operators of small construction activities that disturb equal to or greater than one and less than five acres of land.¹

¹ Stormwater Phase II Final Rule: An Overview. U.S. EPA, Office of Water, EPA 833-F-00-001, January 2000, Fact Sheet 1.0

What other tools and techniques will be developed as part of the SMRC project?

The Center for Watershed Protection is also conducting at least one 2-day workshop in all 10 EPA regions in support of Phase II and the SMRC project. These are scheduled for January 2000 through March 2002. Check this website for periodic updates on upcoming workshops.

In addition, Part 2 of this project involves an expansion of the categories and refinement of the contents of the website. We will also have scheduled stormwater chats featuring several renowned stormwater experts.

How can I obtain hard copies of these materials?

Many of the materials provided in the SMRC website are downloadable. Others can be obtained through the contact information made available at the end of an article or piece. The Practice of Watershed Protection and some of the other publications are available through the Center for Watershed Protection. To get more information on available publications, visit the Center website at www.cwp.org, or call the Center at (410) 461-8323 or via email [email protected].

How do I reference the materials that I download?

Unless a specific reference or contact is cited, all other materials on this website should be cited as follows:

Title: Stormwater Manager's Resource Center (SMRC) Website www.stormwatercenter.net
Author: Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.
Date: 2000
Location: Ellicott City, MD

Who should I contact for questions/comments about the website?

All questions, technical or otherwise, should be submitted to [email protected].

Other Related Links

Center for Watershed Protection http://www.cwp.org
EPA Office of Water http://www.epa.gov/ow/
EPA Surf Your Watershed http://www.epa.gov/surf/