Agenda - Planning Commission - 05/03/2018

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Summary of Ramsey Program The City of Ramsey reviews all new subdivision plans at least 3 times prior to authorizing construction. The plan reviews look at stormwater ponding, rate control and erosion control. The plans for all developments over 1 acre are also reviewed by the Lower Rum River Water Management Organization (LRRWMO). The City has aligned its requirements with those of the LRRWMO to provide consistent guidelines for developers. The City of Ramsey currently has a system in -place for issuing notices to contractors that do not properly maintain erosion control measures. The City adopted a Stormwater Pollution Control Ordinance which went into effect January 2007. It incorporated the conditions spelled out in the model ordinance provided by the MPCA. The city sweeps all streets in the spring to collect sand and prevent it from washing into the storm sewer system. The city also sweeps all streets in the fall to collect leaves. All outfalls where water leaves the MS4 boundaries have been inspected annually since 2003. These inspections were all during dry weather and discharges have not been detected during these inspections. The database of stormwater structures has been created listing the outfalls, ponds and structural water quality treatment structures. This list is used for scheduling inspections and tracking of repairs performed on the system. The city will be improving the website content and establishing a collection of educational materials for various audiences as part of this new permit. The City of Ramsey has programs in place for reducing stormwater pollution and this SWPPP is a guide for additional measures that will be implemented over the next 5 years to further improve the stormwater quality in Ramsey. Ramsey is bounded by the Rum and Mississippi Rivers which are classified as restricted discharge waters. The area adjacent to the Rum River is mostly developed; redevelopment is not anticipated in the near future. The majority of the development is large lot single family residences with wells and septic systems. The bank area between the houses and the water's edge is natural vegetation; pipes have been pushed from the top to the bottom of the bank to provide an outlet for stormwater. Most of the pipes connect to vegetated ditches that provide drainage for the roadway areas. There is one development with urban lots served by municipal sewer, water and storm sewer. One development was approved within the last the 16 years; the remainder were constructed previous to that time. There are ponding areas immediately adjacent to the Rum River Outfalls. They are inspected when the outfalls are inspected each year. A water quality treatment structure was added to upstream of an outfall to the Rum River when drainage improvements were required in the area. This is the proposed course of action for adding additional water quality treatment structures along the Rum River. The Mississippi River is also bounded by a combination of large lot single family residences and urban lots. The recent urban lots were developed with ponds to provide water quality treatment. The older developments may be retrofitted with water quality treatment structures when other work is required in the area. A county park occupies a significant portion of the undeveloped area along the Mississippi River, minimal development is proposed for this park. There are several large tracts under consideration by developers at this time. The schedule for development has not been established; however, these new developments will be within 2000 feet of the river and will require additional storm water measures under the Construction Permit Program prior to being approved. The storm drainage for the City ultimately reaches the Rum or Mississippi Rivers except for some land locked basins. The land locked basins are connected to areas that drain to the rivers when feasibility studies indicate a benefit will be provided by the improvement. The rivers are the only available Ramsey Minnesota SWPPP -11- May 2006 February 2009