Order Your Field Manual Today! |  | |
|
|
KNOW YOUR WEATHER BEFORE BREAKING GROUND!
| |
| |
NPDES + WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
International Erosion Control Association
Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District
|
|
|
Greetings!
DID YOU KNOW that Georgia will soon have a NEW EPD Director!
Governor Nathan Deal announced that he has nominated Jud Turner, former executive counsel to Sonny Perdue, to serve as the next director of the Environmental Protection Division in Georgia. Turner will succeed Allen Barnes, who is resigning from state government to pursue interests in the private sector, who will continue to be a member of Georgia's tri-state water negotiations team.
The nomination requires approval from the board of the Department of Natural Resources. Turner would begin work the first week in January. -------------------------------------------------------------------- IS SEDIMENT A POLLUTANT...REALLY?  How in the world could dirt be a pollutant? As I was looking at old family pictures over the Thanksgiving holiday, I saw a picture of my kids playing in a mud hole that my 4 year old son had proudly built with a plastic hand shovel and garden hose. My 1-year old daughter is adorned with mud all over her face, and is eating the stuff like it was Sunday dinner! My little boy and girl were in heaven as the muddy leftovers ran down their chubby little chins. My wife wasn't too concerned either, and actually took the opportunity to take a picture! How could dirt be toxic, my kids are  living today as healthy adults?!
As adults we have contests in muddy sediment filled pits, and give awards for who can spin their way out of it the quickest. You can't go to one of these races and not walk away covered in it. Is sediment something that a heavy handed NPDES permit should deal with? I mean give me a break.... are Georgia's soils really that toxic to our environment! I've heard of chemicals killing fish, but does dirt kill fish?  "YES!" is the only answer to this question.
I've learned that scolding people can work when it comes to permit compliance, HOWEVER, I've also learned that teaching people to become aware is more effective. Accelerated erosion from construction has caused many of our creeks, streams and rivers to be contaminated with volumes of sediment that have impaired them from their intended use. Manyh of us play or work in the dirt, and it's a great thing as long as we protect other people and properties while we're doing it! |
|
CONSTRUCTION & WATER QUALITY ....American's working together for a BETTER TOMORROW!"
Click Here for
|
|
SACKETTS V. US EPA
CLICK HERE or the PICTURE FOR A
SUPREME COURT UPDATE! |
 U.S. EPA tentatively agreed in November on the pollution rules to protect Florida's lakes, rivers, estuaries, streams and springs.
As for canals - some of the state's most polluted waterways - the deal is off if the state decides to exempt all canals in the state from the pollution rules, a move being pushed by some of the state's most powerful industries. If the state doesn't earn the EPA's approval by March, the EPA will impose its own rules - stricter than those the state now proposes - and could take over permitting altogether.
MORE |
|
PESTICIDES and the NEW NPDES GENERAL PERMIT!
 On October 31, 2011, EPA issued a final NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP) for point source discharges from the application of pesticides to waters of the United States. This action was in response to a 2009 decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (National Cotton Council, et al. v. EPA) in which the court vacated EPA's 2006 Final Rule on Aquatic Pesticides and found that point source discharges of biological pesticides, and chemical pesticides that leave a residue, into waters of the U.S. were pollutants under the Clean Water Act (CWA). As a result of the court's decision, NPDES permits are generally required for these types of discharges as of October 31, 2011. While the permit requirements must be met as of October 31, Operators will be covered automatically under the PGP without submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) for any discharges before January 12, 2012. |
|
WILL THE PERSON WITH NO COMMON SENSE,
PLEASE STAND UP?!
 I have yet to find anyone who seriously doesn't think they have "Common Sense", yet I hear hundreds of people tell me about this very elusive person. Are you the one reading this newsletter that doesn't have "Common Sense"? I mean, are you the one telling people to put silt fence on top of the hill? Maybe you're the one telling the permittee's in Georgia that all state waters in Georgia must be protected with a buffer? Are you? If you are, you may be telling someone something that is not is not Commonly understood between the two of you; or it's possible that you have not investigated the issue enough to know yourself.
 I'll bet the leaders of the country that allowed their water to cause severe health problems (see photos) with their citizens will tell you they had "Common Sense"! But did they have it in comon with the consequences of their misguided decisions.
Chances are, if you're reading this newsletter, you are trying to grow in your "Common Sense". One thing I've learned about "Common Sense" is that IT'S NOT STATIC! "Common Sense" grows with an individual as fast as he or she is willing and/or able to make it grow. Have you ever learned something new about a situation changed your mind about something that moments before you would have died defending? "Common Sense" grows when by accident or intention, we we learn something we didn't know before, Farmers, like my great Uncle, decades ago understood the importance of preventing top soils from washing away from his farm when he had to haul his starving family out  of Georgia with a hand cart. His "Common Sense" changed his farming practices in Oklahoma because of his learning experience in Georgia, but wouldn't it have been nice if he could have had the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission around to help teach him, before he lost everything he had. Problem is that "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink". GSWCC has developed a certification course for people involved in land disturbing activities. Have you learned from it, or just simply gotten it out of the way? If it's the latter, then your Common Sense has not grown, and you're still thinking like it's the good ol'days....and it's not!
Taking an erosion control course can improve a person's common sense with permit compliance and the techniques for preventing erosion and controling sedimentation, IF YOU ARE TRYING to learn. A healthy dose of "Common Sense" is a real asset when your estimating the erosion control on your next job, designing a more effective SWPPP, managing the site before and after it rains, or when you're enforcing the rules intended to protect our water quality.
COMMON SENSE EQUALS A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT and STRONG ECONOMY! IT'S UP TO US TO MAKE SURE OUR POLITICIANS and LEADERS, DON'T FORGET THAT!
-----------------------------------------------------------
***CONGRATULATIONS***
ROBERT HILL for winning the 1/2 Day Guided Fishing Trip on Lake Laner! Stand by for pictures of a SUCCESSFUL FISHING TRIP!
|
|
Factory Farms Rarely Cited for Polluting
 Acting on a tip, state environmental inspectors in February paid a surprise visit to a dairy farm in Eatonton. They found the owner pumping gallon upon gallon of liquefied cow manure into a freshwater pond.
From there the toxic brew leached into neighboring streams, the inspectors said. Seven months later, the farmer signed a consent order agreeing to bring his farm up to regulations, update some equipment and take classes on managing the huge amounts of manure his cows generate. (A single dairy cow may produce an astonishing 140 pounds of manure a day.)
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division chose not to fine the Eatonton farmer. In a state with dozens of "concentrated animal feeding operations" - also known as factory farms - Georgia environmental authorities do not often cite farmers for polluting water with animal manure. And fines against factory farms are rarer still.
A new review of regulatory documents by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows that, in three years, EPD cited five farms among the 152 large farms it is supposed to inspect for the federal government. It assessed one fine - of $3,750 - during that time.
MORE |
|
 Are you a Grateful American? If so, I want to remind you that thousands of soldiers sacrificing their lives for our country, even as you read this newsletter. Please express your gratitude and respect for those who are in the US Armed Forces ESPECIALLY during the Holidays. Write a letter or send a small gift to a soldier, thanking them for their willingness to serve. Your small expression of gratitude will mean more to them than you will know!
This Newsletter is intended to be a useful tool for all individuals involved stormwater management. There is a lot happening now with water regulations that affects a diverse community of public and private entities! If you have areas of interest you or areas of concern you would like included in this newsletter, please contact us at 678-469-5120.
Sincerely,  
T. Luke Owen, PG
Principal Trainer, NPDES Stormwater Training Institute
|
|
|
