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Metropolitan Council ~ `~'-~ ' Working for the Region, Planning for the Future IF~i~ .L ~ ~ - Environmental Services April 14, 2000 To: Communities and WMOs Interested in Urban Runoff BMPs From: Gary Oberts, Environmental Planning & Evaluation Subject: Preparation of Small Site Urban BMP Manual The Metropolitan Council has begun a cooperative effort to prepare a small sites urban runoff BMP ("best management practice") design manual. The project was initiated through the MetroEnvironment Partnership (MEP) with cooperation from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, and the Rice Creek and Minnehaha Creek Watershed Districts. Cooperators choosing to contribute funds to the project will comprise a Project Management l eam that will direct the work program. It is the desire of the project team to seek your input on the manual. The current approach is to contract for preparation of a design manual that focuses on erosion and sediment control, and runoff from sites less than five acres. These are the type of sites that often fall below the NPDES permit and WMO review thresholds. Specific practices of interest will include small-scale detention, infiltration, low impact development techniques, housekeeping, bio-filtration, site preparation and catch basin inserts. Others may be added if there is interest in expanding this list. The differences between this manual and others, such as the MPCA urban runoff manual, are that this will be an engineering design manual rather than a planning manual, and the focus will be on small sites. Any ideas you have on the content, format or uses of the manual would be greatly appreciated. Funding of the project is currently being discussed. The MetroEnvironment Partnership will provide $100,000 toward the effort, but cooperators are needed to match some or all of this money. The total cost of the project will not be known until after the RFP responses are received. There is a likelihood that the scope will be limited by the availability of funds. If your city or WMO would like to participate as a project team member and help direct the effort, please consider a partial match for the MEP grant. If you are interested in being a cooperator, I would like to receive an indication by lviay 15th. We also anticipate forming a technical advisory group to review products as they are developed. Finally, I would like to compile good examples of effective BMPs being used in the metropolitan area. If your community or watershed organization has such an example, I would like to document it and use it for others to see. Please let me know if you have anything of interest and I will arrange for a visit. I would like to begin these visits soon and anticipate collecting the information through the summer, so anything that you plan within that time frame would be great. Comments can be forwarded to me at the Council's address, phoned in at (651) 602- 1079, faxed to (651) 602-1130, or E-mailed to gary.oberts@metc.state.mn.us. Thank you very much. We look forward to your input! 230 East Fifth Street St. Paul. Minnesota 55101-1633 (612) 222-8423 Fax 229-2183 TDD/TTY 229-3760 An Fyun[ Opportunity Employer