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March 2009 |
Vol 4, Issue 2 |
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| The SESWA ForeCast has a new look! |
| Dear (Contact First Name),
SESWA is your source for stormwater education, management and finance in EPA Region 4! This issue of the ForeCast is the first in our new format. We hope it provides you with even easier access to the news in your area - click on the links to the right to go directly to your state!
Be sure to send in your completed Stormwater Utility Survey this week! We have received more than 50 surveys that include over 108 jurisdictions with a stormwater utility. The SESWA 2009 Southeast Stormwater Utility Survey will be the most comprehensive Report about and for stormwater utilities in the Southeastern U.S. FAX your survey to the SESWA offices at 850-222-4124. Questions? Contact Gwen Erwin at 850-561-0904.
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| LID, BMPs and Stream Restoration - Tools for Water Quality Compliance |
 Register Today for the SESWA Spring Seminar! Topics include: Basic Hydrology, Rainfall and Runoff Rates/Volumes; NPDES/TMDL Programs; Stormwater Pollutants; Low Impact Development (LID) practices in the Southeast; LID design and maintenance; Stream Restoration; Best Management Practices (BMP) Types, Selection, Effectiveness and Efficiency; and, Calculating Pollutant Load Reductions. There will be several "real world" case studies, too!
Seminar instructors are nationally-recognized experts Jeff Herr, PE, DWRE, National Stormwater Leader, Brown and Caldwell and John Hayes, PhD, PE, Professor of Biosystems Engineering at Clemson University. They will provide an in-depth understanding of stormwater pollutants and how to select and implement LID, BMPs and Stream Restoration techniques to cost effectively meet your specific needs. Visit the SESWA website for more information including a registration details. Register by Friday, April 3rd for the early-bird discount! |
| National News |
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EPA's Watershed Central
EPA recently posted a new website called "Watershed Central" to help its users find environmental data, watershed models, nearby local organizations and guidance documents. Watershed Central also contains links to watershed technical resources and funding, mapping applications to help find information specific particular watersheds, state and federal partners, and includes a "Watershed Central Wiki" that users may use to collaborate. All watershed practitioners are encouraged to use this new Wiki to share tools, scientific findings, expertise, and local approaches to watershed management.
State Oversight of Federal Stimulus Funds
At least 47 states and the Virgin Islands have created or proposed ways to track, provide oversight and distribute information relating to federal stimulus funds. Governors have created new entities, state agencies are documenting projects and legislatures are forming commissions or committees to oversee the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Visit the National Conference of State Legislatures website for a brief summary of actions that states are proposing or taking to provide oversight and transparency of ARRA. Also included are state websites that will provide information on implementation and spending of funds from ARRA.
In addition, please visit www.grants.gov for general information on federal grants and www.recovery.gov for more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Mitigation Banking - A Way to Fund Watershed Projects in the Southeast?With revenue shortfalls occurring in most local governments becoming more and more common, finding alternative ways to fund your stormwater programs may be a way to offset those budget shortfalls in your department. For a summary of what mitigation banking entails, how local governments can develop a mitigation bank, and examples of local governments in EPA Region IV that are already embarking on mitigation banking visit the SESWA links page. |
| Georgia |
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Erosion Control MOA Approved for the City of Atlanta
After ten years of a probationary status, the City of Atlanta's Memorandum of Agreement with the local Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission has been reinstated. The MOA gives the City the authority to review Erosion, Sedimentation, and Pollution Control plans in-house, saving the development community an average of two months in permitting. Fulton District Chairman Alan Toney feels that the City can now "take its rightful leadership position in the protection of Water Quality for the Metro Atlanta Region."
Data Entry and Records Scanning (DEARS) Improves Water Quality
The Data Entry and Records Scanning (DEARS) Project is a collaborative effort between Gwinnett County DWR Stormwater and Gwinnett Environmental Health District, where nearly 1,000,000 septic system-related documents were collected, scanned, analyzed and then geo-processed. This septic data will augment existing GIS databases to predict potential watershed impact, service the internal needs of the County and Environmental Health, and eventually make septic records accessible to the public for maintenance purposes. DEARS should serve to boost Gwinnett County Stormwater Management's efforts to remove stream segments that violate water quality standards for fecal coliform from the states integrated 303(d)/305(b) list.
Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) Ensures Desired Service Levels
Gwinnett County has developed a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) that covers pipe inspections, maintenance, rehabilitation/replacement and disposal of strategically identified assets. This was done to ensure that desired service levels and other operational objectives are achieved at optimal cost. This venture has been a long running effort and and will be incorporated into the Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) when completed. Once incorporated, it becomes part of the MS4 NPDES Permit and is enforceable.
The SAMP will provide Gwinnett County a more organized, logical approach to decision-making concerning pipe inspections and maintenance, thus concentrating their limited resources on the pipes that are deemed to be the most critical. The SAMP includes long-range planning, life-cycle costing, proactive operations and maintenance and capital replacement plans based on cost-benefit analyses. Asset Management, if planned and implemented appropriately, can be one of the most efficient methods of meeting the challenges of the present without sacrificing the future. For more information, contact John Corn at John.Corn@gwinnettcounty.com. |
| Kentucky |
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SD1 and NKU Partner to Share a Stormwater Message
Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1) and Northern Kentucky University (NKU) have partnered in an effort to introduce stormwater education to a new audience. Recently added to NKU's course catalog is a newly-developed class titled "Protecting Water Resources." NKU students can now enroll in the 200-level lecture and lab developed by one of the University's professors.
The objective of the lecture portion of the course is to expose students to practices that are threatening the world's water resources, including land-use and stormwater runoff. The course will also expose students to the currently accepted best management practices (BMPs) that are used to reduce the impact of storm water runoff on waterways. The lab portion of the course will give students hands-on and applied experiences with which to understand water quality, the land/water connection, how storm water issues affect our lives and what the average person can do to reduce his or her stormwater impact.
SD1 is hoping that this course will encourage a change in behavior among this audience, give the students an introduction to the issues our local regulators face and reiterate importance of protecting our region's waterways. The course is set to begin during the Fall 2009 semester. In exchange for sharing the stormwater message with college students two semesters per year, NKU will earn a credit off of their facility's stormwater bill. For more information, contact Sean Blake at sblake@sd1.org. |
| North Carolina |
City of Charlotte - Proprietary BMP Testing Results
Many municipalities are faced with the regulatory challenge of requiring structural stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) for private development activities as well as their own municipal operations. In the continuous search for new technologies to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff, many proprietary devices have been developed. However, with any new technology, many questions arise. One important question is: "Does the proprietary device really work?"
The City of Charlotte maintains an aggressive Pilot Stormwater BMP Program. The purpose of the pilot program is to monitor various types of structural stormwater BMPs to determine their best use and effectiveness in Charlotte's overall stormwater quality management program. As part of the program, the City has constructed numerous BMP retrofit projects including the installation of several proprietary hydrodynamic BMPs at city-owned facilities. Read more on the SESWA Links page.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workshop Announcement - April 30, 2009
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services is holding a workshop for contractors who perform mobile vehicle washing, pressure washing and similar services that generate wash water runoff. The intent of the workshop is to educate business owners on proper measures to contain and dispose of wash water. Washing activities are widespread across the country and can be a significant source of polluted dry weather flows to municipal storm drain systems. The United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners is a co-sponsor of the event to be held on April 30th. For more information, please contact Craig Miller at 704-336-7605. |
| South Carolina |
Sustainable Development in Coastal South Carolina
Beaufort County was one of the hosts for a 2-day Summit on Sustainable Development. The Summit was heavily focused on Stormwater and Low Impact Development (LID). There was a wide range of presentations and workshops on many aspects of getting LID incorporated into development. There were about 100 attendees, including many elected officials. The agenda and all presentations are on the web at ACE Basin NERR. |
| Tennessee |
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Tennessee Legislative Watch
There are several proposed bills affecting water quality that will be considered during this legislative calendar. Some of the bills include:
SB1738(Ramsey) / HB2009(Mumpower) - Provides that those who hold permits allowing for a water withdrawal do not have to re-apply when there is a modification to their hours of withdrawal in their permit, but only request the modification form TDEC with an explanation of why the revision is necessary.
SB1112(Overbey) / HB1622(McCord) - Requires air and water quality rules be consistent with and not exceed the requirements of federal statutes. Provides if there are no federal statutes the state can create those regulations if necessary to protect health, welfare, or the environment. Prevents any permit from having requirements which are not the direct basis of existing rule.
SB0632(Southerland)/HB1615(McCord) - 1) States that "support" as used in the definition of wet weather conveyance means meeting the classification of fish and aquatic life even during low flow; 2) Excludes wet weather conveyances from "waters"; 3) Requires the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to develop waters determination training; and, 4) Allows for stream determinations to be made by an expert outside of TDEC.
SB0633(Southerland)/HB1617(McCord) - Creates definition of "limited resource waters" as those not attaining their designated uses due to natural occurrences or modifications and exempts them and wet weather conveyances from the definition of "waters."
Metro (Nashville/Davidson County) Funding Mechanism Passes
Nashville/Davidson County Metro Storm Water Funding Mechanism has passed. The monthly stormwater fee will be assessed for all residential and non-residential properties in Davidson County with the exception of those in the six satellite cities. The fee will be based on the amount of impervious square footage on the property. The impact on the average residential bill will be $3.00 per month. Visit the Nashville website for details.
Nineteenth Tennessee Resources Symposium
From April 15th to April 17th, the Nineteenth Tennessee Resources Symposium will be held in Montgomery Bell State Park, which is hosted by the Tennessee Section of the American Water Resources Association (TNAWRA). The TNAWRA strives to promote the advancement of water resources research, planning and education by providing an annual forum to exchange multidisciplinary ideas about water issues throughout the state and the surrounding region. The Tennessee Section has provided this annual forum since 1988. Session topics include Geomorphology, Stream Evaluation, Storm Water, Watershed Planning, Policy and Education and Outreach. For additional information visit the TNAWRA website.
Improving Water Quality in Tennessee
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has adopted a general permit to aid in the erosion prevention and sediment control at construction sites. An integral part of improving water quality in Tennessee's streams is the training of those requesting coverage under the June 2005 TDEC Construction General Permit (CGP) Notice of Intent (NOI). To meet this need, the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center has developed three training workshops for developers, contractors, engineers and other professionals, inspection personnel, and enforcement officials responsible for all aspects of preparation and implementation of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) for preventing erosion and controlling sediment at construction sites one (1) acre or more in size. Several workshops will be occurring in the coming months. For more information, visit the Tennessee Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control website. | |
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Please share your comments on our newsletter by emailing us at SESWA@ksanet.net.
Sincerely,
The Southeast Stormwater Association
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