Stormwater Management Plan

As a regulated municipality under the MS4 permit program, the Town of Freeport is required to develop a Stormwater Management Plan and submit it to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Plan defines the appropriate Best Management Practices (BMPs) for each of the six Minimum Control Measures in the regulations. The Plan also includes the following information: (1) the measurable goals for each BMP; (2) the person(s) or position(s) responsible for implementing each BMP; and (3) the schedule for implementing each BMP. The Town also needs to document the implementation of the Plan and provide annual reports to the Maine DEP. 

The Town developed a Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) and submitted it to the Maine DEP as required by the current permit dated July 1, 2022.  Due to changes in the permit by the DEP and to make other corrections to the Plan, the Town submitted a Modified SWMP to the DEP on July 22, 2024. The Town's Stormwater Management Plan includes a schedule and may be updated over the course of the 5-year permit period.

Watershed Management and Restoration Projects

For over 20 years, the Town has been involved with projects to study water quality impacts within the Town’s two major urban watersheds—Frost Fully Brook and Concord Gully Brook—and to implement projects designed to improve water quality.  These two brooks are designated as “urban impaired streams” by the Maine DEP, so the Town has been able to leverage funding from the DEP and US EPA for most of these projects.  For more information about recent projects and future plans, contact the Town Manager’s office.

Interlocal Stormwater Working Group (IWSG)

Since before the first MS4 regulations were enacted in 2003, the Town has been a member of a municipal government effort in the Portland area known as the Interlocal Stormwater Working Group that includes all of the 14 regulated communities and other interested parties.  The group is coordinated by the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, who also works cooperatively to meet the permit’s education requirements for all ISWG members.