EAST HELENA — East Helena is grappling with the cost of installing new stormwater systems to comply with the federal Clean Air Act.
When it rains, water can pick up everything from oil and grease to fertilizer and sediment, carrying those pollutants into nearby waterways. East Helena is working to prevent that, but officials say the cost of compliance could add up.
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“Typically, it only applies to municipalities of 50,000 population or greater, so it is something that the City of East Helena has never even thought of having,” Kevin Ore, the City of East Helena public works director, said.
A federally required municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4, is designed to capture and manage stormwater before pollutants reach waterways like Prickly Pear Creek.
On Sept. 21, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, which regulates Montana’s MS4s, notified East Helena that it had been designated as an MS4 community.
“Although it is nice to have dry streets, obviously it is not something that impacts day-to-day life that much,” East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris said.
East Helena already has some drainage infrastructure at two points into the creek.
“Try to limit any future discharges to the creek and focus on retention ponds and French drains and stuff that are easier to maintain and don’t require the additional permitting,” Ore added.
The city estimates they could spend an additional $30,000 to $50,000 over several years to implement and maintain the system.
“Thirty to fifty thousand dollars for a city of fifty thousand is a small drop in the bucket, but for a city of 2,300 it is an impactful amount,” Harris said.
The next step in the compliance is mapping out all the stormwater systems in the community by March of next year.
