EPA Audits of MS4’s: How The Process Has Evolved

Thea Lomax, M.S. & Carol Johnson, M.S.

EPA works with its federal, state and tribal regulatory partners to monitor and ensure compliance with clean water laws and regulations in order to protect human health and the environment. A crucial component of this monitoring is EPA’s assessment of the Storm Water Management Plans (SWMP) of large and small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) for permit compliance. The first half of this presentation is geared toward those who are relatively new to overseeing and implementing an MS4 program. It will give an overview of EPA’s MS4 Audit program, providing a basic understanding of the background, methodology and scope of the audit process. The second half will be case studies highlighting what is required in a SWMP, what we look for, and how the process has evolved over the years.

Co-Presented by Thea Lomax, Storm Water Enforcement Officer

Ms. Lomax specializes in the enforcement of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Storm Water Program with over a decade of technical and management-support experience for both the EPA Storm Water Team, senior-level management, regional states and at the national level. She has an extensive background in storm water enforcement and compliance assistance; organizing and leading teams in the design and development of the EPA storm water program assessment tools: MS4 Audit Checklist, MS4 Self-Assessment, and MS4 Phase I and II Pre-Assessment; evaluating MS4 Storm Water Management Programs; industrial inspections, and focusing on the environmental-enforcement arena. She also was instrumental in establishing the Louisiana Storm Water Coalition to provide compliance assistance in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to sMS4s. Ms. Lomax continues to develop and provide training and technical support to the EPA Storm Water Team, senior-level, regional states and National EPA related to her specialty areas: storm water and the Assessment tools. She has served in National and regional enforcement initiatives such as the Big Box and the Auto Salvage initiatives, and currently on the ESA/ESO Workgroup, MS4 Workgroup to address issues in storm water management and compliance.

Co-Presented by Carol Johnson is a Stormwater Inspector and Enforcement Officer

Carol Johnson is a Stormwater Inspector and Enforcement Officer for EPA Region 6’s Water Enforcement Branch. Ms. Johnson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and a Master’s in Environmental Policy from Syracuse University’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and has over 12 years of experience in environmental compliance, first with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, where she worked as a Natural Resources Specialist conducting stormwater inspections within TCEQ’s Region 4/Dallas office. After leaving TCEQ Ms. Johnson worked for the City of Fort Worth as an Environmental Specialist ensuring compliance for the city’s StormWater Management Program for almost 5 years, before joining EPA in 2015.