The Kalispell City Council will hold a work session tonight to discuss the city’s stormwater management program. The work session will provide an overview of the future of the program and include time for the public to comment on the system.

Kalispell has a stormwater management program permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. This permit is intended to “protect local water quality by reducing and preventing stormwater pollutants from entering the storm system and local water bodies,” according to the agenda for the work session.

2019 marks the third year of this 5-year permit, at which time the city “is required to implement and enforce a new post-construction stormwater management program that includes annual inspections of both public and private stormwater facilities.”

Montana DEQ has a number of guidelines the city must follow in establishing and maintaining their stormwater management program. These include requirements for inspections, control structures and record-keeping. A detailed overview of these guidelines is available in the agenda for the work session.

In addition to presenting an overview of Kalispell’s stormwater program, city staff members at the work session will also introduce one new ordinance for the program.

This new ordinance “includes the new program for post-construction” as required by the city’s permit. The ordinance combines two existing ordinances that regulate construction activities and pollutants introduced into the system. The work session agenda stated, “the new ordinance combines the two existing ordinances, adds the new program for post-construction and streamlines enforcement.”

The city’s enforcement response plan is a required part of the overall stormwater system. The purpose of the ERP is to offer guidance on “the enforcement action most appropriate for instances of noncompliance” and communicate about the use of these enforcement tools. The ERP is designed to “prevent pollutants,” “ensure that violators return to compliance in a timely manner” and “promote compliance through education and compliance assistance,” among other purposes.

The work session agenda reported, “the enforcement process consists of six basic steps beginning with identification of a violation and concluding with closing the complaint.” A detailed explanation of the ERP with a flowchart visualization is presented in the agenda document.

More details about the stormwater management plan are available in the work session agenda here: https://www.kalispell.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_09232019-321

The work session will take place at 7 p.m. tonight in the City Council Chambers, 201 1st Ave. East.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.