Operation & Maintenance Program

As part of the requirements of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ), the City of Bismarck has to follow pollution prevention and good housekeeping practices in operations. We have implemented an operation and maintenance program that prevents or reduces pollutant runoff from municipal operations. 

We are working on this through: 

• Providing operation and maintenance of storm sewers including street sweeping and inspection of infrastructure.
  • Typical maintenance activities include routine storm sewer inspections, removal of sediment and debris, vegetation control, and erosion controls The City of Bismarck only maintains public infrastructure. Private facilities, including storm sewers, detention ponds, and streams located on private property are not maintained by the City.
• Having a pesticide and fertilizer management program.
  • This program reduces the amount of pollutants discharged from storage, application and disposal of pesticides, and fertilizers. In addition, these chemicals are only applied by personnel that are properly trained in management techniques. 
• Training municipal employees to reduce pollutants in stormwater.
  • Municipal employees participate in training that addresses MS4 maintenance, reduction, and prevention of stormwater pollution from city activities. Some of these areas include: fleet and building maintenance; proper use, storage, and disposal of chemicals; new construction and land disturbance; and stormwater system maintenance.
• Assessing BMPs (Best Management Practices) at city facilities to reduce stormwater from the facilities.
  • Existing facilities are evaluated to determine if there are any BMPs that can be implemented to reduce the quantity of stormwater and the amount of potential pollutants leaving the site. During new facility construction, BMPs are always considered for stormwater management.