In 1999, the Water Quality Management Division initiated a program designed to provide training for county and local community staff responsible for locating and eliminating illicit discharges to surface waters. Five modules and two specialty sessions were developed and presented to over 2,200 municipal staff and other interested parties beginning in 1999. Our 27 years of experience with administering an illicit discharges detection and elimination program were coordinated with anticipated abilities and needs of local communities in designing and refining the program. The IDEP Training Workshop is the most popular module. It includes key messages, technical information, case studies, a "hands on" problem solving exercise, an examination, and a certificate of successful completion.

The IDEP training workshop receives state and nationwide recognition. In a May 2007 Stormwater magazine article titled "Interview with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stormwater Champion: Nikos Singelis, Senior Program Analyst, EPA", citing the illicit discharge elimination program of Wayne County's Rouge Project as deserving of the national "Storm Water Hall of Fame." WQMD presented this workshop throughout the State of Michigan, in Los Angeles, California, Duluth Minnesota, and Lake County, Illinois.

For more information on the Water Quality Management Division's Illicit Discharge Elimination Training Program, please contact Noel Mullett at 734-326-4486.

Illicit Discharge Training Presentation Slides

Assisting participants during the IDEP Problem Solving Exercise