About the Event
September of 2023, Grant Handley of the town of North East presented to the ENERWA Board about their MS-4 permit requirements, mainly because he saw an opportunity to possibly create a partnership between the Town of North East and ENERWA. This partnership could possibly help the town achieve some of their goals regarding their permit requirements.
In the summer of 2024, two volunteers from ENERWA, who had previous MS-4 inspection experience, conducted several dry weather stormwater outfall inspections in the Town of North East throughout the summer. They inspected these outfalls using the required methods of data collection required by the MS-4 Permit Standard Operating Procedures. By September of 2024, 12 dry weather outfall inspection screenings had been completed, including 3 outfalls that had not been previously identified but now have been added to the routine outfall inspection list.
The purpose of these outfall inspections, besides being a requirement, is to help ensure that the stormwater leaving the town of North East drainage system is not contaminated with any type of septic or sewage discharge from either a system failure or an illegally connected sewer pipe. These inspections must be repeated every 5 years to meet permit requirements. We think this is a great opportunity for our continued partnership with the town and more importantly, we want to help protect the waters that enter the North East River and its tributaries. After all, only rain should go down the drain!