About Gloucester County
Stormwater Management

The Gloucester County Board of Freeholders, in an effort to help municipalities address non-point source pollution and stormwater management, has established a Gloucester County Stormwater Management Program that provides assistance, where it makes good economic sense, with many of the NJPDES permit requirements. Browse through these Stormwater Management pages to learn more about the NJPDES stormwater management permit requirements and the ongoing stormwater management efforts in Gloucester County.

The overall long-term goal of stormwater management is to have all waters in New Jersey meet water quality standards for their designated uses. That is, ensure that our rivers, lakes and coastal waters are fishable, swimmable, and support healthy ecosystems. Non-point sources of pollution from stormwater runoff “have long been thought to be major contributors to the degradation of water quality in New Jersey.” The task ahead will not be easy.

Controlling point sources of pollution took many years, many new governmental and private partners and billions of federal and private dollars. Successfully managing non-point sources of pollution and stormwater runoff can be expected to require a similar if not greater commitment. (New Jersey Non-point Source and Stormwater Management Program Plan, NJDEP, December, 2000)

“The [USEPA] Stormwater Phase II Final Rule (December 8, 1999) requires operators of regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and develop a stormwater management program designed to prevent harmful pollutants from being washed by stormwater runoff into the MS4 (or from being dumped directly into the MS4) and then discharged from the MS4 into local waterbodies” (source: USEPA). In New Jersey, the NPDES permit program is administered by the NJDEP, and as a result, all Gloucester County municipalities and the County Highway Division were required in April 2004 to obtain authorization from the NJDEP to discharge their stormwater under an NJPDES stormwater permit. The permit requirements are relatively complex and comprehensive, and they affect all of us.