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 DuPage County Stormwater Best Management Practices
The DuPage County Department of Economic Development and Planning will soon implement requirements for water quality Best Management Practices (BMPs) to be included within stormwater permit submittals.
All development requiring a stormwater permit submittal is proposed to be included, from large-scale industrial developments to individual single family residences.
Examples of BMPs include avoidance and minimization of stormwater impacts, vegetated filter strips, permeable pavement, and naturalized detention basins. The "Water Quality Best Management Practices Technical Guidance" provides guidance for the planning, selection, design, and implementation of BMPs.
Technical guidance is currently at the municipal review level. It is anticipated that mandatory BMP implementation for all development requiring a stormwater permit submittal will be enacted by spring 2008.
The "Water Quality Best Management Practices Technical Guidance" may be reviewed at http://ec.dupageco.org/bmp/pdf/BMP9-19-07.pdf |
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 Snow is Here Today, But Not to Stay
With the Holidays past and snowflakes in the air, winter in Chicago has set in. With warm temperatures late into October and November, Fall of 2007 was a season when construction work was possible up until the first week of December. It may have enabled you to get that last bit of grading, seeding, and erosion blanket completed, but if your site wasn't stabilized prior to winter, you may be at risk for erosion and sediment control problems.
Snow and freezing temperatures are here, but as quickly as it has come, winter will leave us with a sloppy mess of frost, saturated soils and spring rains that may wreak havoc on your site.
For now, your Best Management Practices are limited to silt fence and sediment control maintenance whenever the weather permits, but stabilization may be the key to keeping your site in compliance this year.
Early Spring is the optimum time to stabilize your disturbed areas with temporary seeding. ENCAP has the solutions that you need to stay in compliance with NPDES and improve your site ascetics and marketability.
With cool temperatures and abundant moisture, early Spring is the ideal time to temporarily stabilize your site. ENCAP can select the appropriate seed mixtures and soil amendments to get your site green no matter what the soil conditions.
Spring is also an efficient time to enact temporary stabilization based on site conditions. Often, stabilization can be achieved quickly and without additional management or mulching to keep your site stable and in compliance for as long as you need it. |
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 Winter Wetland Delineations
With all of the snow on the ground, you may have asked yourself, "can wetlands still be identified on my property this time of year or do I have to wait until spring?" Do not fret! Here is the low down regarding winter and wetlands.
Although winter is not the best time of year to identify wetland boundaries because of degraded plant material, snow cover, and frozen ground conditions, wetland boundaries can still be identified.
An experienced wetland consultant can identify approximate wetland boundaries using available resource mapping and a site inspection.
These wetland evaluations are called "determinations." Although a wetland determination does not include staking wetland boundaries, the approximate wetland boundaries are identified on an aerial photograph and wetland buffers and mitigation ratios can be estimated.
A wetland determination generally cannot be used for permitting purposes; however, it can be useful to making land use and other planning decisions.
A wetland "delineation" includes the staking of wetland boundaries. A wetland delineation may be performed during the winter as long as there is no snow cover and the ground is not frozen.
The recognized growing season for Northern Illinois is generally from April 15-October 15. Wetland delineations performed outside of the growing season should be updated in the summer to complete an accurate Floristic Quality Index.
Cut-off dates for Floristic Quality Assessments vary by county as follows: Cook County April 15-October 15; DuPage County April 15-October 15; Kane County June 1-October 15; Lake County May 15-October 1; McHenry County May 15-October 1; and Will County April 15-October 15. |
 Changes Forthcoming to Illinois NPDES Permit
On May 31st, 2008 the Illinois General NPDES permit for storm water discharges from construction site activities will expire.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is currently in the process of reviewing the existing NPDES General Permit and formulating changes to the new permit which is anticipated to be issued this year.
A draft of the proposed permit will be issued for a public comment period prior to being issued and enacted. An exact timeframe for the renewal of the permit and issuance of the draft for public comment has not been made.
If the new permit is not issued or enacted prior to the expiration of the existing permit, the existing permit will be temporarily extended on all sites that were permitted under the expiring permit.
Exactly what changes will be made to the permit conditions are unknown at this time, but keep in touch with the erosion and sediment control professionals at ENCAP for the latest developments in the renewal of the Illinois NPDES General Permit. |
 ENCAP Hosts Ecological Land Development Workshops
We have taken the lead in making sure that land development professionals have all the tools necessary to effectively manage their sites for erosion and sediment control, natural resource management, and wetland permit compliance.
With continued regulatory compliance checks and increasing awareness of stormwater quality issues land development and municipal professionals need to be aware of what they should be doing to keep their projects in compliance and within budget.
ENCAP will host workshops in our office in Sycamore, IL or we will come to you.
These workshops are geared towards informing and educating project managers, site superintendents, and designers on the strategies and practices necessary for them to succeed during their next project.
Please call 815.899.1621 to set up a workshop for your organization. | |
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