Wastewater Management Ordinance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
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Phosphorus is a valuable and limited resource that is a requirement for plant growth. Once phosphorous is released to the environment through crop fertilization or in municipal wastewater effluent it is very difficult to recover. Maximizing the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater is a part of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) new mission to foster sustainability and recover resources from wastewater.
In general, a permit will be required for the following type of work. (See Article 2 of the WMO for more details):
Permit requirements will vary based on jurisdictions -- Cook County, City of Chicago, and District Corporate Limits or Extraterritorial Service Agreement (ESA) areas.
More details can be found in §201 of the WMO.
The WMO will apply to both new development
disturbance, and the redevelopment of existing established parcels.
Detention allowances have been granted for redevelopment, under certain
conditions. More details can be found under §505 of the WMO.
A Single Family Home Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) short form permit is required for single family home development:
A regular WMO permit is required for development:
A permit is not required for interior work or maintenance activities.
The WMO regulates sanitary sewer construction. More details can be found in Article 7 of the WMO. The WMO has replaced the repealed Sewer Permit Ordinance and the Manual of Procedures, which regulated sewer construction.
If an applicant has reviewed all available WMO resources and still has questions on whether or not a Watershed Management Permit is required for a particular project, the applicant may petition the District in writing for a determination. A letter describing the project, with any supporting exhibits and documentation, should be sent to the District. Contract information is provided on the WMO website.
Runoff and volume control requirements apply to multi-family residential and non-residential developments when the parcel size is ≥ 0.50 acre, to residential subdivisions when the parcel size is ≥ 1.0 acre, and to rights-of-way when the new impervious area is ≥ 1.0 acre. Detention is required for multi-family residential and non-residential developments when the parcel size is ≥ 3.0 acre, to residential subdivisions when the parcel size is ≥ 5.0 acre, and to rights-of-way when the new impervious area is ≥ 1.0 acre. The total area developed since May 1, 2014, must be included for detention, regardless of previous WMO permit applicability. Open space developments are exempt from volume control and detention requirements, and single family homes and maintenance activities are exempt from all stormwater requirements. Table 2 in Article 5 summarizes the stormwater requirement for projects requiring a WMO permit.
For any future development requiring a WMO permit (see FAQ #2 above), runoff and volume control will be required for the disturbance area of that development. Any new development that totals in the aggregate to 0.50 acre or more is subject to detention requirements under the WMO. Detention will be required for the new development area, as well as any development area that didn't previously require a WMO permit. Table 2 in Article 5 lists detention requirements based on parcel size and development type.
Article 4 of the WMO includes requirements for erosion and sediment control. Any development requiring a watershed management permit must comply with these requirements, which generally mirror the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Article 6 of the WMO regulates floodplains to promote responsible floodplain development. Article 6 includes compensatory storage requirements, which are intended to preserve storage volume within floodplains. Furthermore, Article 6 specifies a flood protection elevation two feet above the base flood elevation. This is intended to protect structures adjacent to floodplains.
The WMO specifies certain types of "appropriate uses" for development within regulatory floodways. The construction of non-habitable accessory structures, such as a detached garage or a storage shed, that do not block flood flows is considered an appropriate use. Construction of a new single family home or commercial building in a regulatory floodways is not considered an appropriate use.
The WMO regulates isolated wetlands. Wetlands facilitate hydrologic functions, reduce flow rates in waterways, provide flood control, and prevent erosion. The WMO does not regulate wetlands under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The WMO defines an "indirect wetland impact" as "a development activity that causes the wetland hydrology to fall below eighty percent (80%), or exceed one-hundred fifty percent (150%), of the existing conditions storm event runoff volume for the 2-year, 24-hour storm event."
The WMO allows wetland banking as approved by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The District does not intend to create any additional wetland mitigation banks outside of those offered by the Corps. The requirements regarding wetland banking can be found in §605 of the WMO.
The WMO requires applicants to use Bulletin70 rainfall data. The use of Bulletin70 rainfall data is common engineering practice in Northeastern Illinois.
Stormwater detention may be provided offsite for parcels less than ten acres in areas under certain hardship conditions. Section 504.14 outlines a framework for providing offsite stormwater detention. Although stormwater detention may be provided offsite, volume control must be provided on the site.
Two year restrictors, which are implemented to comply with a two year release rate, tend to be smaller in diameter and consequently clog more often. Such restrictors are known to present maintenance challenges. The volume control requirement provides a similar watershed benefit, without the history of maintenance problems. The volume control requirement requires capture of one inch of rainfall runoff from all impervious areas. This is approximately complete capture of 90% of rainfall events in northeastern Illinois. The volume control requirement is expected to mimic the 0.04 cfs/acre release rate requirement (i.e. at the 2-year event).
Yes, green infrastructure is encouraged as a method for meeting runoff, volume control, and stormwater detention requirements.
The District conducted an Economic Impact Study (EIS) to estimate the economic impacts the WMO may have on Cook County. The EIS was completed in 2013 and is available on the District's website. With consideration of the EIS findings, the District revised the detention requirements originally proposed in the draft WMO.
Article 14 of the WMO provides a framework for local administration of the permit requirements through authorized municipalities. In order for a municipality to locally administer the WMO, the municipality must be both qualified and petition the District for authorization. Once authorized, such municipalities may locally issue watershed management permits for development activities listed in §201.1.
Authorized municipalities may issue watershed management permits. Such issuance is advantageous because the municipalities may expedite the permit process. This efficiency will benefit permit applicants and developers.
The TGM was updated in the beginning of 2015. Updates included additional standard details in Appendix C and minor corrections and clarifications throughout. Article 8 and Appendix D, which provide technical guidance for the District's Inflow/Infiltration Control Program (IICP), have also been added to the TGM.
Yes, the District will provide additional training opportunities for design engineers seeking to understand how the new permitting process will operate. Training will also be provided for Authorized Municipalities. Available trainings opportunities will be announced on the WMO homepage, under the Training Schedule link.
No, the District has not established any fee-in-lieu programs for the stormwater requirements contained in the WMO. However, the WMO provides various allowances and options for stormwater detention and volume control practices that provide flexibility to applicants in meeting those requirements.
All single family home developments are exempt from permit fees, excluding projects involving public sewer extensions.
The Connection Impact Fee will not apply for most projects. This fee was created to capture new service connections in areas annexed into the District after July 9, 1998. This one-time fee is based on the acreage of the area for which new sewer service is requested. Generally, this will only apply to areas previously outside of the District's jurisdiction which are currently on septic or private treatment systems who wish to connect to public sewers.
For projects that do not involve flood protection areas, the District will review the submittal and respond within 15 working days. For projects that involve flood protection areas, the response time will be 30 working days. The turnaround time for all resubmittals will be 10 working days.
The purpose of Schedule R is to provide notice of obligation to current and future property owners that infrastructure permitted under the WMO must be maintained. For example:
Schedule R and Exhibit R are approved as part of the permit review process, and are recorded with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office against the property index numbers (PINs) upon project completion.
Schedule R, Recording and Maintenance, is required for perpetual maintenance of any of the following:
Schedule R is not required for municipal or ROW projects (e.g. school, police station, etc.)
At a minimum, the Exhibit R illustrates the property lines, adjacent right-of-way, the legal description, physical address, property index numbers (PINs), and types of all facilities being maintained, per Schedule R. The approved Maintenance Plan must also be included in the notes on Exhibit R. An example Exhibit R can be found here.
Two copies of Schedule R and Exhibit R are required with the WMO Permit Application. At the time of project completion, Exhibit R should be updated to reflect as-built conditions. The Co-Permittee is responsible for executing the recording with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds office. Please be sure to record one additional copy, which must be submitted to the MWRD prior to permit close-out.
The review of Schedule R occurs during permit review, and becomes part of the issued permit. Schedule R and Exhibit R need to be on file prior to permit issuance to ensure there is a copy to record if recording does not occur after construction for any reason.
The $500 recordation fee is a deposit toward ensuring compliance with the recording requirements. Upon completion of construction, Schedule R and Exhibit R shall be recorded against the property index numbers (PINs), and one original copy of the recording sent to the MWRD. At that time, a refund will be initiated to return the $500 deposit. Should the recording fail to be executed for any reason, the deposit will be used to cover MWRD costs to process the recording, and no refund will be issued.
Often, design changes will necessitate a change in the amount of qualified sewer or stormwater review. In other cases, applicants may not be aware of certain review fee requirements until comments have been submitted by the District Review Engineer. If additional fees are due, a business check, cashier's check, or money order shall be submitted with a new Fee Payment Voucher, indicating which additional fees are being paid. The permit or revision will not be issued unless all fees have been paid. If an overpayment has occurred, a refund will be provided under separate cover. At the end of construction, if a field change has resulted in an increase in qualified sewer construction, additional inspection fees will be charged. The RFI will not be issued until the additional fees have been paid.
Refunds are available for overpayments of the sewer inspection fee and any schedules that have been paid but are not applicable to the permit review. If a project is cancelled either during review or after the permit is issued, all refundable fees are eligible for a refund. Non-refundable fees include the base fee and any schedules that have undergone review (i.e. detention, wetlands, etc.). At the end of a project, when the Schedule R/Exhibit R is recorded, the Recordation Deposit will be refunded.
Refunds will be processed after the permit is issued for any overpayments made during the permit review or revision. The Recordation Deposit refund will be processed after the recorded documentation is received by the District Field Office. If a permit is cancelled during review, the refund will be processed under separate cover automatically. If a project is cancelled after the permit is issued, the refund will be available upon request.
The District does not intend to be involved in payment disputes between an owner and their consultants or contractors. The District’s policy is to refund the entity which paid the specific fee item. However, this party may provide written permission to remit any refund to another party. For example, if an additional inspection fee was paid by the design engineer, who will bill the owner (Co-Permittee) for the additional fee, the design engineer may notify the District in writing that any refund shall be paid to the Co-Permittee. Written permission may be sent with the Fee Payment Voucher, or with any subsequent resubmittal. |
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