The National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) with Seth Brown, PhD, P.E. episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 5, 2025 · 54 MIN

The National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) with Seth Brown, PhD, P.E.

from The Stormwater World Podcast · host Ty Garmon

Did you know that this podcast is produced by Digital Stormwater? Digital Stormwater B2B Visibility & Digital Marketing, making a difference in stormwater 1 click at a time! They do all things digital. Check them out at DigitalStormwater.com because the best-known beats best every time. Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction 02:59 The Formation and Purpose of NMSA 06:00 Advocacy for MS4s at the National Level 09:10 Challenges and Resources for Local MS4 Programs 12:01 Training and Support for MS4s 15:00 The Importance of National Presence for Local Issues 17:52 Membership Structure and Benefits 21:06 National Stormwater Day and Its Significance 32:06 Stormwater Awareness Initiatives 34:10 Celebrating Stormwater Professionals 36:05 Recognizing Stormwater Champions 38:03 Engaging the Community in Stormwater Awareness 39:55 Membership Importance in Stormwater Organizations 41:20 Emeritus Membership and Institutional Knowledge 44:10 Introduction to STEPP Program 49:07 The Value of the Stormwater Sector 53:32 Moving Stormwater to the Adult Table  Quotes Ty Garmon (08:40): “Nobody cares about stormwater unless it’s coming in their house.” Seth Brown (12:49): “We advocate as a 501c3 for our mission… to try to support MS4s… and make them more technically effective, more cost effective…” Seth Brown (23:02): “we don’t want to have a bioretention facility become considered waters of the US.” Seth Brown (47:xx): “can think of [STEP] as the consumer reports for stormwater infrastructure.” In this episode of the Stormwater World Podcast, Ty Garmon talks with Dr. Seth Brown, Executive Director of NMSA, about why the alliance formed to give MS4 programs a unified national voice, how it advocates on issues like PFAS liability and Waters of the U.S., and the practical tools it offers members. They cover NMSA’s low-cost training and tracking, the open MS4 resource library, and membership options that fit both Phase I and Phase II communities. Seth explains National Stormwater Day on November 16 and how it recognizes the launch of the MS4 program while offering a free webinar and updates from Centers of Excellence. They dig into STEP, NMSA’s third-party testing effort meant to deliver clear, apples-to-apples performance data for proprietary BMPs. The episode closes with a call for stormwater to move from reactive work to proactive leadership and to claim its seat at the table.   The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future. Connect with Seth Brown: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbrownpe/ Email:  Website: https://ms4nmsa.org/; https://nationalstormwateralliance.org/nmsa-resources/ National Stormwater Day: https://nationalstormwateralliance.org/nmsa-resources/ Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products & Practices (STEPP) https://ms4nmsa.org/stepp/ or https://stormwatertesting.org   Connect with Ty Garmon, LEED AP:  Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/ Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57 Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.com Stay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up/   Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Did you know that this podcast is produced by Digital Stormwater? Digital Stormwater B2B Visibility & Digital Marketing, making a difference in stormwater 1 click at a time! They do all things digital. Check them out at DigitalStormwater.com because the best-known beats best every time. Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction 02:59 The Formation and Purpose of NMSA 06:00 Advocacy for MS4s at the National Level 09:10 Challenges and Resources for Local MS4 Programs 12:01 Training and Support for MS4s 15:00 The Importance of National Presence for Local Issues 17:52 Membership Structure and Benefits 21:06 National Stormwater Day and Its Significance 32:06 Stormwater Awareness Initiatives 34:10 Celebrating Stormwater Professionals 36:05 Recognizing Stormwater Champions 38:03 Engaging the Community in Stormwater Awareness 39:55 Membership Importance in Stormwater Organizations 41:20 Emeritus Membership and Institutional Knowledge 44:10 Introduction to STEPP Program 49:07 The Value of the Stormwater Sector 53:32 Moving Stormwater to the Adult Table  Quotes Ty Garmon (08:40): “Nobody cares about stormwater unless it’s coming in their house.” Seth Brown (12:49): “We advocate as a 501c3 for our mission… to try to support MS4s… and make them more technically effective, more cost effective…” Seth Brown (23:02): “we don’t want to have a bioretention facility become considered waters of the US.” Seth Brown (47:xx): “can think of [STEP] as the consumer reports for stormwater infrastructure.” In this episode of the Stormwater World Podcast, Ty Garmon talks with Dr. Seth Brown, Executive Director of NMSA, about why the alliance formed to give MS4 programs a unified national voice, how it advocates on issues like PFAS liability and Waters of the U.S., and the practical tools it offers members. They cover NMSA’s low-cost training and tracking, the open MS4 resource library, and membership options that fit both Phase I and Phase II communities. Seth explains National Stormwater Day on November 16 and how it recognizes the launch of the MS4 program while offering a free webinar and updates from Centers of Excellence. They dig into STEP, NMSA’s third-party testing effort meant to deliver clear, apples-to-apples performance data for proprietary BMPs. The episode closes with a call for stormwater to move from reactive work to proactive leadership and to claim its seat at the table.   The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future. Connect with Seth Brown: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbrownpe/ Email:  Website: https://ms4nmsa.org/; https://nationalstormwateralliance.org/nmsa-resources/ National Stormwater Day: https://nationalstormwateralliance.org/nmsa-resources/ Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products & Practices (STEPP) https://ms4nmsa.org/stepp/ or https://stormwatertesting.org   Connect with Ty Garmon, LEED AP:  Connect with Ty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tygarmon/ Sign up to be a guest: https://forms.gle/whijSz9Tio3iZda57 Check out The Stormwater World Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hVXVJ5oXplf_V9XOPpR6A Podcast Website: https://stormwaterworld.com Stay Informed! Sign-up for the Stormwater World Newsletter: https://stormwaterworld.com/newsletter-sign-up/   Please don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Stormwater World Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

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The National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) with Seth Brown, PhD, P.E.

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Did you know that this podcast is produced by Digital Stormwater? Digital Stormwater B2B Visibility & Digital Marketing, making a difference in stormwater 1 click at a time! They do all things digital. Check them out at DigitalStormwater.com because...

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