The Stormwater Report

The Arbor Day Foundation’s National Tree Benefit Calculator determines, among other advantages, the amount of stormwater a tree will intercept depending on its species, location, and diameter. Heal the Bay recently released its 2011 Beach Report Card. The report is coupled with a tool that allows users to find wet and dry weather grades for each beach along the West [...]

To reduce nutrient loading of the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland has passed a bill that limits nitrogen and eliminates phosphorus in most fertilizers. The act also establishes best practices for public fertilizer application and a training and licensing program for professionals. The law, which should be fully implemented by October 2013, is designed to target commercial [...]

Washington State University (WSU; Pullman, Wash.) announced May 20 a new Stormwater Center and Green Infrastructure Partnership. The center joins WSU’s already established Low Impact Development Center and Watershed Stewards outreach program. A Washington Department of Ecology grant helped to fund the Center’s development in Puyallup — an area that has been targeted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s green infrastructure [...]

In early May, the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) held “Wet-Weather Issues, Stormwater and CSOs,” a seminar focusing on stormwater utilities, green infrastructure planning and implementation, and stormwater practice performance research. Regulatory updates were also provided by headquarter and regional EPA officials on stormwater and wet weather topics. This successful event was the first event of [...]

The Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) is actively commenting on an American Society of Civil Engineers (Reston, Va.) guidance document for enhancing public safety near stormwater structures. Although stormwater safety is often overlooked, poor design, maintenance, and planning of urban stormwater management facilities can lead to injuries or fatalities. Areas of concern include impoundments (ponds, [...]

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) announces a multiday, multitrack Stormwater Symposium to be held next summer. WEF currently is seeking volunteers who are interested in joining the conference planning committee and reviewing abstracts for the event. Interested individuals should contact Jenn Chavira at jchavira@wef.org. Related Posts:Registration Opens for WEF’s Inaugural Stormwater CongressCheck it Out! Victory [...]

Although collection systems are expected to address sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), there is no national regulatory program specific to SSOs. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held listening sessions in 2010, seeking stakeholder input on updating NPDES to include SSO-related maintenance, operation and management goals. EPA [...]

On May 6, the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) released a revised stormwater position statement recommending updates to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater program. The statement also outlines several recommendations for improved stormwater management, including use of a volume-based approach for stormwater treatment, support of green infrastructure, flexibility in the stormwater regulatory framework, consideration [...]

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) submitted comments on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memorandum, which calls for changes in some policies related to stormwater-based total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). In summary, WEF believes that this memo should be withdrawn and included with the stormwater rulemaking effort. This would allow for more input from [...]

On May 26, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D–N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D–R.I.), and Ben Cardin (D–Md.) and Rep. Donna Edwards (D–Md.) introduced the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act. This legislation encourages the research, development, and promotion of green infrastructure, and it would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to accept green infrastructure in permitting activities. [...]