Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Center for Watershed Protection briefs Oxford on MS4 stormwater work and Chesapeake Bay obligations
Summary
Beth Uhler of the Center for Watershed Protection updated Council on the Borough's MS4 program under the NPDES permit, the six Minimum Control Measures, and a Chesapeake Bay Pollutant Reduction Plan. She highlighted projects (stream restoration, wetlands, rain‑garden curb bump outs) and noted potential funding needs including grants or a stormwater utility fee.
Beth Uhler, Pennsylvania Director of the Center for Watershed Protection, briefed Oxford Borough Council on March 2, 2026 about the Borough’s MS4 stormwater management responsibilities under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and the Clean Water Act.
Uhler reviewed the six Minimum Control Measures municipalities must implement to reduce stormwater pollution: public education, community involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, post‑construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention for municipal operations. Because Oxford lies within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Borough must also implement a Pollutant Reduction Plan to reduce sediment and nutrient loads. Uhler cited local projects — stream restoration, wetlands creation, and rain‑garden curb bump outs on Mount Vernon Street — that both reduce runoff and calm traffic.
She noted future regulatory changes being discussed at the state level could shift performance measures from sediment reductions to reductions in overall stormwater volume from impervious surfaces, and that implementation of some projects will depend on grant funding or potential funding mechanisms such as a stormwater utility fee. Council members asked about inventorying best management practices and maintaining privately owned installations; Uhler said the Borough inspects outfalls and inventories practices such as rain gardens and vegetated swales and relies on property‑owner maintenance agreements when appropriate.
