Group/Joint Activities - Public Education

The PBC MS4 NPDES permit requires three specific public education tasks:

Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fertilizer Application (SWMP 6.)
Outreach to encourage citizens to reduce their use of PHFs.

Illicit Discharges and Improper Disposal - Public Reporting (SWMP 7e.)
Outreach to promote, publicize, and facilitate public reporting of the presence of illicit discharges and improper disposal of materials into the MS4.

Illicit Discharges and Improper Disposal - Oils, Toxics, and Household Hazardous Waste Control (SWMP 7f.)
Outreach to encourage the proper use and disposal of used motor vehicle fluids, leftover hazardous household products, and lead acid batteries.

The Palm Beach County MS4 permittees agreed to address the public education requirements of the MS4 NPDES permit as a joint effort. The belief is that a single unified message, repeated throughout the County will have more impact than 40 separate messages.

Outreach on the proper use of PHFs and on the identification and reporting of illicit discharge and illegal dumping is carried out through the joint Stormwater And Me (SAM) public education program. Two to four PSAs, targeting the public outreach topics are selected each year. An annual video public service announcement (PSA) campaign is carried out on five Comcast channels aired in Palm Beach County. The selected videos are also exposed over 50,000 times during each campaign via pre- and mid-roll impressions on the internet. In addition, the SAM program has created and produced educational materials such as posters, brochures, door hangers, and the StormwaterAndMe.org website for use by all permittees.

Education on the proper use and disposal of household hazardous wastes throughout the County is carried out by the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority (SWA). SWA is a County entity and, as such, compliance with this permit requirement is met cooperatively on behalf of all permittees.