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KNOW YOUR WEATHER BEFORE BREAKING GROUND!
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NPDES + WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
International Erosion Control Association JOIN TODAY
Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District
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Greetings!
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2012 with
federal and state enforcement of  Clean Water Act regulations. Maintaining an awareness on current events for land disturbing activities. Is it important to be aware of the Sackett's, Donovan and Rapanos if building a house near a jurisdictional water, working in a creek or wetland?
What the heck is an ELG and is it achievable on construction sites with clay in the soil? To understand the answers to these questions, you have stay informed AND know the basics!
UPDATE on 404 Permits
The CWA prohibits the unpermitted discharge of pollutants into "navigable waters" from any point source (including land disturbing activities of 1 or more acres). The CWA defines "navigable waters" as "waters of the United States." The CWA requires a § 404 permit to discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. The Corps administers the CWA § 404 permitting program, but the Corps shares enforcement duties with EPA for unpermitted discharges of dredged or fill material. The Corps has interpreted "waters of the United States" to include traditional navigable waters, their tributaries, and wetlands adjacent to those waterways or tributaries. Under the Corps' regulations, "adjacent wetlands" include wetlands separated from waters of the United States "by man-made dikes or barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes and the like". CLICK HERE to learn about how the this issue is moving forward! |
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 EPAs TURBIDITY LIMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES
EPA published a Federal Register notice on January 3, 2012 requesting additional data on the performance of technologies in controlling turbidity in stormwater discharges from construction sites. The notice also requests information on other relevant topics including:
- sample collection,
- applicability to electric transmission line construction,
- cold weather considerations, and
- the ability of small sites to meet a numeric standard.
EPA will be accepting comments for 60 days, on or before March 5, 2012, and will use the data and information for future rulemaking.
THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF! Submit your comments by one of the following methods as directed by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2010-0884
Mail: Water Docket, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Hand Delivery: Water Docket, USEPA Docket Center, Public Reading Room, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 3334, EPA West Building, Washington DC 20004. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. |
CONSTRUCTION & WATER QUALITY ....American's working together for a BETTER TOMORROW!"
Click Here for
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ANNOUNCING OUR NEW NPDES TRAINING ONLINE STORE
BUILDING & RENOVATING A POND in GEORGIA
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UPDATE
SUPREME COURT on the SACKETTs VS. EPA
 This is an important year for all of us with regard to how our water is going to be regulated. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on January 9, 2012 in Sackett, v. EPA, a case that has the potential to change EPA administrative enforcement under the Clean Water Act ("CWA"). Sackett involves "pre-enforcement review," the ability of a defendant to obtain judicial review of administrative compliance orders without running the risk of penalties in an EPA enforcement action. The legal issue in the case is whether a pre-enforcement review bar can be implied into the CWA and - even if it can - whether an implied ban would violate the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. A clear majority of the Court appeared more sympathetic to the plaintiff than the government, and many court-watchers have predicted that EPA may lose, opening the door to direct judicial appeals of government enforcement orders under the CWA, and perhaps other statutes.
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FOR MS4 OPERATORS.....
We perform other types of NPDES stormwater training! As MS4 Training providers we felt it was good to share an annual reporting software solution to your budget challenges. The MS4 Web program is a customizable, state of the art software that can make annual reporting much simpler and easier!
You may wonder what is a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)? A MS4 is a conveyance or a system of conveyances that is owned by a state, city, town, village, military base, or other public entity (Universities) that discharges stormwater to waters of the United States. A MS4 collects or conveys stormwater (including storm drains, pipes, ditches, etc.). It's not a combined sewer system and is not part of a publically owned treatment works (POTW). MS4s must report annually to the State administering the MS4 permit or the US EPA. |
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SEDIMENT, EROSION AND TURBIDITY CONTROL CONFERENCE and GREAT WORKSHOPS on FEBUARY 26, 2012
CLICK HERE
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***CONGRATULATIONS***
RICHARD PRUITT of Batson-Cook Company for winning the 4th Quarter 2011 - 1/2 Day Guided Fishing Trip on Lake Laner! Stand by for pictures of a SUCCESSFUL FISHING TRIP!
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IT's TIME TO LEARN ABOUT
ANIONIC POLYACRYLAMIDE (PAM)
It's in the Greenbook!
A Floc Log is a group of soil specific tailored log-blocks that contains blends of water treatment components and polyacrylamide co-polymer for water clarification and erosion control.
They reduce and prevent fine particles and colloidal clays from suspension in stormwater. There are more than 60 types of Floc Logs designed for varying soil and water conditions. Contact Applied Polymer Systems, Inc. at (www.siltstop.com) or call the NPDES Training Institute for testing and site-specific application information.
Primary Applications
-Newly cleared Construction or Building Sites drainage
-Road and Highway construction runoff ditches
-Ditch placement for all forms of highly turbid waters
-Dredging operations as a flocculator
Features and Benefits
-Removes solubilized soils and clay from water
-Prevents colloidal solutions in water within ditch systems
-Binds cationic metals within water, reducing solubilization
-Reduces pesticide and fertilizer loss during rain events from runoff
-Increases soil permeability and water penetration
-Reduces operational and cleanup costs
-Reduces environmental risk and helps meet compliance
Specifications / Compliances
- ANSI/NSF Standard 60 Drinking water treatment chemical additives
- 48h or 96h Acute Toxicity Tests (D. magna or O. mykiss)
- 7 Day Chronic Toxicity Tests (P. promealas or C. dubia
CONTACT US at info@npdestraining.comor call us at 678-469-5120 for more information. |
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EDITORIAL
 CLEAN WATER REGULATIONS
Politics and Water Quality Don't Mix!
Does it make sense for a land developer to invest her time and money into a construction project and expect to prosper financially from her efforts! Absolutely,..that's a big part of what makes America great! Does it make sense for a land developer to be held accountable for polluting someone elses water down stream? Absolutely, our rights to clean water are also what makes America great! If you answered "No" to the second question, you need to read about, or preferrably visit, Haiti, China or scores of other countries where millions of people have no legal right to clean water, and therefore suffer daily. What is it that sucks the common sense out of the answer to a simple question like..."Would you drink the water downstream that carries the stuff you put into it upstream?" The answer seems so simple and straight forward. So why do people I normally consider intelligent, continue to battle over the issue of clean water?! Is it really all that complicated? The evidence of what happens to our water when we do nothing about it is in our nations recent past. Let's not forget!
America's quality of life is the envy of the world! People are willing to die (and sometimes do) to live in the United States of America. Our water quality has come at a great expense and we must all remember that it takes a lot of money to clean up the rain water that picks up our pollution and carries it to our waterways. The Clean Water Act provides the tools necessary to prevent our waters from being polluted and also makes people accountable for their actions when they damage or pollute our waterways. However, let's not forget the importance of a strong healthy economy (ie private enterprises making a profit) to pay for Clean Water Act compliance! The Clean Water Act and a strong economy working together have been very successful in improving our water quality over the last 40 years!
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Get involved and learn the truth behind environmental protection. Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife is a great organization to get involved with in the Western US. The poorly handled introduction and management of wolves has damaged elk and deer populations in many areas. Here, in the southeast US, we have a long history of environmental impact! If it weren't for our environmental protection guidelines and regulations, many of our water ways would be severely impaired!
Please write a letter or send a small gift to a soldier, thanking them for their willingness to serve our country. 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 land disturbing activities and 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 that 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
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