The Stormwater Report

Retention ponds are designed to manage stormwater flow and trap pollutants. Because many collect a significant amount of nutrients, the ponds often grow algae on the surface of the water. This can create odor concerns and lead to low oxygen levels that do not support aquatic life. The floating wetlands are essentially buoyant mats that can be [...]

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is using sewage dogs to sniff out areas where water may be leaking from the sanitary sewer into the storm sewer. The dogs are trained to alert people if they smell fecal pollution. By identifying specific manholes with contamination, the dogs can help narrow the area of investigation. Milwaukee River Keeper received a [...]

On May 16, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization released Doubled Trouble: More Midwestern Extreme Storms. According to the report, severe Midwestern rain storms — those totaling 75 mm (3 in.) or more in 1 day — have doubled in the last century. An earlier Water Environment Research Report states [...]

In the May 23 Federal Register, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice that logging roads will not require Clean Water Act permits. EPA plans to release a rule maintaining the precedent that best management practices are more practical than issuing permits for millions of miles of forest roads. This issue arose due [...]

The 2011 Clean Water Act (CWA) Amendment allows municipalities to leverage reasonable stormwater fees on federal facilities. In USA v. Cities of Renton and Vancouver, a Washington State District Court recently ruled that federal facilities are responsible for municipal stormwater fees billed prior to enactment of the 2011 amendment. This decision could create a split [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to drop a flow-based surrogate from the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for Hinkson Creek, Mo. This move indicates that EPA may drop this approach from future national policy plans. The settlement came after a lawsuit filed by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources; Boone County, Mo.; [...]

On May 3, the Chesapeake Bay Commission released Nutrient Credit Trading for the Chesapeake Bay: An Economic Study by RTI International. The study reports that nutrient trading could produce a potential cost savings of 20% to 80%, depending on implementation parameters. The highest cost savings reported are achieved through a watershed-wide program that allows urban [...]

On May 15, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed SB 3187, eliminating duplicate state- and local-level review of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) construction permits by giving municipalities authority to approve. A pilot program is currently ongoing until the law takes effect July 1, 2013. To gain authority to run its own construction permitting program, [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched the Campus RainWorks Challenge, a green infrastructure design competition for student teams working under a faculty adviser. Registration opens Sept. 4, and entries are due Dec. 14. Student teams could win up to $2500 in cash prizes and up to $11,000 in research funds for their faculty [...]

Conference leadership is looking for additional involvement at the 2012 Stormwater Symposium, including workshop room monitors on July 18 and session co-moderators for both July 19 and 20. Co-moderators help organize speakers before and during the session and help introduce speakers before each talk. For more information, please e-mail Jeff Cantwell at jcantwell@flowassessment.com. Related Posts:Registration [...]