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by T. Luke Owen, NPDES Training Institute

Ditches are getting some special attention by the USEPA, and so are the municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s - see article below) that have millions of ditches in them from around the country.  So what is it we need to know about a ditch and it's impact to the water quality of a river, lake or ocean that receives the water from it?  Is it over kill to focus attention on a ditch and it's potential contribution of pollution to a lake or ocean?

 

Let's briefly discuss some indisputable facts about a DITCH. Did you know ditches were already defined for years in the Clean Water Act?  It's just that little was done to regulate them as conduits of water pollution to downstream receptors.  How they are going to be managed which will probably surprise you in the article below is where the controversy comes in.

 

A) When rain hits the ground (stormwater), it flows down hill andoften finds a ditch after it's picked up dirt, goose poop, dog poop, oil, fertilizers, insecticides, etc., then flows through and into a pond, lake or ocean through a ditch.

 

 

B) When rain hits the ground in a urban setting it doesn't readily soak into the ground and usually runs down hill picking up volume & velocity because of impervious hard surfaces (concrete, asphalt, buildings, etc.).  This causes higher volumes of pollution to be carried along the ground with the stormwater until it has no place further to go, which is normally a lake or the ocean.

 

C) When rain water runs through a ditch, it often erodes the ditch and carries extra sediment and pollutants into the local lake or ocean. Ditches are conduits that carry pollution downstream to people that live near the bottom of the watershed.


D) American Sealcoat, LLC was recently fined $10 Million for intentionally funneling oil based pollution from their operations outfall and into the Chattahoochee River through a ditch. It's usually private citizen reports and complaints that generate water quality protection laws and their enforcement.  This is why the Clean Water Act was amended in 1972 which stepped up legal accountability to the discharger for polluting our nations rivers. The Chattahoochee River is one of many rivers that funneled huge volumes of sewage and industrial waste downstream from Atlanta to LaGrange and other small towns who had little ability to fight it.  It still happens due to the nature of the expense of seperating stormwater and sewer pipes, but on a much smaller scale. Sewage and industrial discharges around the world make their way through ditches that spread disease, make people deathly sick, and cause massive fish kills.

BROWN TROUT - Chattahoochee River 2012 When you look at the purpose a ditch, in that it often funnels polluted water downstream and away from it's source in concentrated flow fashion. The question for our country should not be "Are ditches significant contributors to impaired water quality in US watersheds today?", but rather...."Just how should private industry and public regulatory officials WORK TOGETHER to effectively regulate them so it doesn't break the bank of companies responsible for preventing pollution from getting into our nations waters!"  Remember, it takes a lot of dedicated money to pay for environmental protection, just look at Indonesia as the poster child for not protecting it's water quality.
WATER QUALITY and MS4s
A Birds Eye View Says It All

Last month I flew over Los Angeles (a Large MS4 Operator) and this is what I saw........

We ALL need to share what Municipal Seperate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) are, AND how vital the NPDES permitting program is to our country's quality of life!
USEPA Steps Up Accountability 
for MS4 Permittees

  On September 14, 2015 the Ninth Circuit approved a settlement between EPA and environmentalists that requires EPA to propose by Dec. 17, 2015, revisions to its Clean Water Act (NPDES) general permit program for small MS4s to make cities more accountable for reducing stormwater pollution going to "waters of the U.S." This could force cities to further restrict runoff from construction sites and developed properties within their limits.

KEEP IN MIND, that many cities already have ordinances that go above and beyond the federal rules for construction site runoff and developed properties.  Always check your local ordinances before beginning a construction project or or an industrial operation!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2015
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"Waters of the US" LEGAL CHALLENGE UPDATE

Multiple states have filed suit against EPA and the Corps challenging the rule, claiming the new WOTUS definition is an "unconstitutional and impermissible expansion of federal power over the states and their citizens and property owners." Numerous industry groups have also teamed up to challenge the rule in various federal district and appellate courts. 
Other lawsuits like the one above, one by a farmer are also making into the media.

On July 28, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) issued an order to merge all of the lawsuits over the Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule that have been filed in various courts of appeal, holding that the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will hear the consolidated suits.  The JPMDL scheduled a hearing on October 2, 2015, on DOJ's motion to consolidate ten challenges to the WOTUS rule from eight district courts.

The REAL STORY Behind regulating DITCHES in the new WOTUS rule may not be as bad as the media wants us to think it is!  
THIS IS THE DEAL...... 
According to the USEPA and Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) under the new WOTUS definition, if you factor in the new ditch exclusions that cover both ephemeral and intermittent ditches, the final rule actually reduces the universe of jurisdictional ditches - in comparison to the 2008 Rapanos guidance (i.e., pre-rule).  

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Contractors may find that ACOE Corps field staff are more consistently finding that they DO NOT have jurisdiction over intermittent ditches - whereas in the past those intermittent ditches may have been more closely scrutinized on a 
case-by-case analysis as a potential tributary. Even in a situation where the ditch exclusions DO NOT apply, the permittee may still need to consider whether the maintenance activity in the ditch is exempt.

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2012 303d LIST - 
GEORGIA
   
 
 

 

BUILDING & RENOVATING A POND in GEORGIA    

 

CONCRETE WASHOUT PROCEDURES

 

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STREAMBANK & SHORELINE RESTORATION in GEORGIA 

 

GESA Exemption #8

 

BUFFER VARIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR DAMS

ESSENTIAL "How To's" for SEDIMENT BASINs

NPDES TRAINING INSTITUTE Due to POPULAR DEMAND, we are offering another Sediment Basin course on October 28th, which has also been approved for recertification credits for the GSWCC program. 

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MS4 CECI
Compliance & Enforcement Certified Inspector 

Federal and State Officials speak

Provided by the NPDES Stormwater Training Institute, you won't find a NPDES certification course with more useful information than the MS4 CECI seminar ANYWHERE, or your money back!

Municipalities and private consultants around the country LOVE MS4 CECI training!

 

"The videos with equipment demonstrations really helped make it practical"

 

The EPA and state regulator discussions made the course practical and helped me understand how to properly regulate water quality problems in my MS4"

 

Great training! I feel like I know what to do now with my inspections, both for illicit discharges and construction sites."

 

"I liked the interaction with the instructor, updated information and all the new resources given out."

 

"The instructor was patient and really did a good job of answering questions"

 

"Excellent Course! Video's and Interaction with Instructor!"

 

In addition to the material you receive, after passing your exam, you will receive a Certificate of Completion worth 14 CEUs and a MS4 CECI photo ID card.

 

Call us at 678-469-5120 and speak with Rita or Tami and/or email us at [email protected]

HERE's TO 
TIGHT LINES & GOOD TIMES 
in
 Clean Abundant Water!!!
 
It's important that we sacrifice a little today to give our kids an equally great place to live, swim, fish, and hunt tomorrow!  There is a lot happening with water regulations that affect 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. 
 
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T. Luke Owen,PG 
President/Principal Trainer and Consultant