Attention: Nonpoint Source Grants! Section 319 of the Clean Water Act-administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-establishes a grant program to assist in nonpoint source pollution mitigation efforts. States, territories, and tribes receive grants which support a variety of water quality activities, including:

• technical assistance
• financial assistance
• education & training
• technology transfer
• demonstration projects
• monitoring

Find out more!

From the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s Bay Journal… 6 Bay Governors Unite in Drive to Put Runoff Controls in Highway Bill.  Officials and cleanup activists sent letters asking that road construction using federal money include measures to protect water.  Bay region leaders and cleanup activists from around the watershed are hoping that a new federal highway bill can put the brakes on stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake.  Their goal is to require that any new or reconstructed highways using federal money install state-of-the-art stormwater controls to protect local streams and ultimately the Bay.  Read more.

Chester County Conservation District Receives Federal Economic Stimulus Funding. The Chester County Conservation District will receive a total of $2,172,084 for agriculture and urban stormwater best management practices through the federal economic stimulus funding. The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) Board met July 21, 2009 and among others across the State, approved 40 green infrastructure projects for Chester County made possible by funds allocated in the American Resource Recovery Act (ARRA), 2009.  Read more.

Farms in Cumberland, Potter, and Sullivan counties win Clean Water Awards.  The Clean Water Farm Award, initiated in 1986, recognizes farmers within Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, who manage their daily farm operation while keeping a watchful eye on water quality. The farms’ conservation plans address issues that help control potential pollutants such as eroded soil, pesticides, and fertilizers from entering streams or groundwater supplies.  To find out more read the press releases at the new and improved PACD website.

From Richmond BizSense… Rainwater Rules Cast Cloud Over Development.  Developers are lining up in opposition to new storm water requirements they say will dramatically increase the cost of development in Virginia, and may even scare off the sort of large companies that could bring thousands of new jobs.  The proposed regulations, part of Gov. Tim Kaine’s environmental agenda, would reduce the amount of phosphate runoff permitted by new developments from .45 pounds per acre a year to .28 pounds.  Environmental advocates say that will help improve the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.  But critics say the rules put too high a burden on builders.   What do you think? Read more and add your comment.

New Report on Urban Stormwater by the National Research Council.  The National Research Council Water Sciences and Technology Board has released the report “Urban Stormwater Management in the United States.”  The report is the product of a two-year study by national experts, commissioned by the EPA in 2006 to evaluate the NPDES stormwater program and make recommendations for improvement.  The report describes the history of stormwater management in the US, gives an overview of federal stormwater regulations, and provides information on relevant scientific and technological issues such as hydrology, geomorphology, biology, monitoring, and modeling.  It also provides significant findings and recommendations on how stormwater management in the US should be improved to achieve better environmental outcomes.  This presentation summarizes the findings and discusses EPA activities to implement its recommendations.  See report.

From the Stormwater Journal’s Editor’s Blog… Density Done Well, posted By Janice Kaspersen.  Amid all the debate about land use and the benefits of high-density versus low-density development, it’s refreshing to see some examples of how to get it right. Kaid Benfield, the director of the National Resource Defense Council’s Smart Growth Program, recently posted a slide show illustrating some excellent examples of Smart Growth. Put together by Rachel Sohmer of the NRDC, the slides illustrate neighborhoods around the country that have successfully incorporated Smart Growth.  View article and slide show.

Upcoming Events

8^th Annual StormCon -  world’s largest stormwater conference, August 16-20 at Anaheim CA.  Go to StormCon.com for program details.  Registration is open.

From the Pennsylvania DEP… PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT ON RECOVERY ACT-FUNDED DRINKING WATER, WASTEWATER PROJECTS Public Meeting Set for July 29, 2009. HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection will accept public comment on proposed drinking water and wastewater projects slated to be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, DEP Secretary John Hanger announced today. “This is an opportunity for the public and water system professionals to review the proposed projects and comment on how the recovery funds are being spent to improve water quality across Pennsylvania,” said Hanger.

Reminders!

July 28, 2009: Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure webcast series

July 31, 2009: CALL FOR STORMWATER BMP PROJECTS hosted by The Stormwater BMP Recognition Program

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Connecting the Dots Flooding, Global Warming, Floodplain (Mis)Management, & National Legislation

The United States is getting more heavy storms and major floods these days… To explain the bigger picture and provide recommendations for how to cope with projected changes and how to avoid the worst impacts of global warming, National Wildlife Federation’s mini-report Increased Flooding Risk: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for Riverfront Communities details:

• How global warming has caused more heavy rainfall events
• America’s over-reliance on levees and other strategies for taming rivers
• Communities that are on the frontlines
• What must be done to confront the realities of global warming

Read more

Wetlands for Stormwater Management: Constructed and restored wetlands provide water quality benefits, By Margaret Buranen. Wetlands, newly constructed or restored, are playing an important role in sustainable design strategies to manage stormwater. They are integral parts of projects in both urban and open or undeveloped areas around the country. Sometimes wetlands are created to manage stormwater only onsite, but increasingly they are an option where a watershed or portion of one is involved.

Read more

Upcoming Events

The Center for Watershed Protection will be holding a Watershed Institute in Columbia South Caroline September 22-25.  http://www.cwp.org/Calendar/WI09/WI09.html

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay presents the 2009 Chesapeake Watershed Forum, October 9-11.  The Chesapeake Watershed Forum is an annual conference for watershed organizations and local government officials from around the multi-state Chesapeake Bay region. It is an opportunity to learn the latest scientific techniques in Bay restoration and protection, address specific organizational capacity building needs, focus on regional and watershed-wide needs, network with other watershed organizations, and enjoy the beauty of the watershed.  Registration will open the week of July 20^th. Find out more.

Attention:

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Environmental & Water Resources Institute has issued a CALL FOR PAPERS:

World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2010: Challenges of Change.

Where: Providence, Rhode Island

When: May 16-20, 2010

What: Join and add your resources to the discussion on technical topics covering research and practice on issues that include:

• Water Distribution Systems

• Watersheds and Watershed Management

• Groundwater

• Education

• Hydraulics and Waterways

• Innovative and Emerging Technology

• Irrigation and Drainage

• Planning and Management

• Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater

Call for Papers: 500 word abstract due Thursday, September 17, 2009.

Click here to submit.

Reminders!

July 20-22: 62^nd Joint Annual Conference at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, PA

July 20-24: 13^th Annual Delaware Estuary Watershed Teacher Workshop on the Delaware River

July 22: Living Streamside: Penny Pack Environmental Center in Philadelphia

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Attention Developers: Check out Chester County Conservation District’s Post Construction Stormwater Management Checklist Program Powerpoint for a list of goals, site planning procedures, BMPs, and more!

From the Stormwater Journal: Washington State Decision Makes LID Mandatory by Henrietta H. P. Locklear. A popular concept among municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) implementing stormwater regulations—is that stormwater runoff should be treated using natural practices or means that mimic natural practices, so that the natural hydrology of a developed site is maintained. This concept is often called low-impact development (LID). Read more.

From The Chesapeake Stormwater Network: The Trouble with Terrain Part 2: Stormwater Solutions for Karst Terrain. CSN has just released a stormwater design supplement for karst to help engineers, plan reviewers, and public works officials make better stormwater decisions in karst terrain. Until now, the limited guidance available on this topic has been uneven, sometimes conflicting and certainly not comprehensive.  Read more.

Upcoming Events

Reminder July 20^th-24^th, 2009, 13^th Annual Delaware Estuary Watershed Teacher Workshop. This week-long workshop is designed to give participants a greater understanding of the wide variety of issues within the watershed and the interconnections between human actions and the river’s ecosystem. Begin the week at the upper portions of the estuary and literally travel down to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, ending with an overnight in the historical beach town of Lewes, DE.  See brochure for more information and registration form.

Webcast! Don’t miss the EPA NPDES’s Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure webcast series.  The next one will be held Tuesday, July 28, 2009 from 1pm to 3pm Eastern time. The topics will be Retrofits: Green Streets by Chris Kloss from the Low Impact Development Center and Operation and Maintenance by Tracy Tackett from Seattle Public Utilities.  Your computer must have the capability of playing sound in order to attend these webcasts. Registration for these webcasts will open approximately two weeks before each scheduled event. Please visit www.epa.gov/npdes/training to register.

FREE Living Streamside Workshop Brought to you from the Philadelphia Water Department: You don’t have to live alongside a creek or stream to attend this event. The workshop will provide environmentally friendly landscape designs and guidance focused on stormwater issues, stream bank erosion and general “green” landscaping practices. Click here to view flyer.
Date: July 22, 2009
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Location: Pennypack Environmental Center (8600A Verree Road, Philadelphia, PA 19115)

StormCon, the North American Surface Water Quality Conference & Exposition. Includes:

• Comprehensive Multi-Track Course Curriculum
• One- and Two-Day Accredited, Pre-Conference Workshops
• CPSWQ, CPESC, and CISEC Certification Review Courses and Exams

Held at the Anaheim Marriot, in Anaheim, California from August 16-20, 2009.  Advanced Registration still open.  Click to learn more.

Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy Call for Volunteers in July & August. Delmont Lake is under attack, being choked by a nasty invasive aquatic plant called “European water chestnut,” or (Trapa natans).  Canoes and rowboats will be used for this effort, and a limited number of boats and life jackets are available. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own if they have one. No experience necessary, all tools and instruction will be provided. Registration is required.  Please visit the website or contact Kelly Germann for questions and to register: kgermann@perkiomenwatershed.org or 610-287-9383.

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Resources Conservation Act - Conservation districts have an important opportunity to provide input into the Resources Conservation Act process through upcoming listening sessions and other avenues. Click here to find out what the RCA means to districts and how you can participate.  Specific topics include:

• The most important natural resource concerns on private lands today and in the coming decade
• Effectiveness of current conservation program approaches (e.g., technical assistance, cost-share, easements, compliance, research, land retirement, locally led conservation) in addressing priority resource concerns
• Alternative program approaches (e.g., environmental service markets, tax credits) to address resource issues.

From the Chesapeake Bay Journal:

MD joins mid-Atlantic states to protect, manage the ocean. A new mid-Atlantic ocean partnership addresses the region’s priority ocean issues including offshore energy, climate change, water quality, and habitat protection.  Read more…

Spring shad numbers up in Susquehanna, down in Potomac.  This spring’s shad runs brought remarkably mixed results-and some new concerns-in the Bay’s tributaries, with some showing increases in migrating shad, while others stayed the same or declined.  Read more…

Upcoming events

Mark Your Calendar! The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission are holding their 62^nd Joint Annual Conference at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, PA, July 20-22, 2009.  Click here for details!

Attention Engineers: The American Society of Civil Engineers is holding two water management conferences in 2010 and have issued a CALL FOR PAPERS.

Watershed 2010: Innovations in Watershed Management Under Land Use and Climate Change

• Where: Madison Wisconsin
• When: August 23-27, 2010
• What: The conference will highlight innovative approaches for managing water resources under climate and land use change. Topics include:
  • Hydrologic measurement and modeling
  • Integrated and/or adaptive water management
  • Aquatic ecosystem restoration
  • Risk based design
  • The use of regional predictions of climate change
• Call for Papers: One-page abstract due August 12, 2009. Click for a list of topics.  Submit electronically via the conference website.

2010 International Low Impact Development Conference: Redefining Water in the City

• Where: San Francisco, California
• When: April 11-14, 2010
• What: Conference will highlight new and continuing work including research, developments, and community adoption of LID throughout the United States and internationally. Objectives include:
  • To continue to promote the use of LID as an effective alternative for traditional stormwater management
  • To examine successful watershed management practices related to stream restoration and hydromodification
  • To inform practitioners throughout the country on how to anticipate and address impediments for implementation of these techniques to accelerate change in the practice of stormwater management, including an information exchange to refine design processes, review procedures, and construction standards related to LID technologies
  • To improve our collective understanding of how vegetation helps manage stormwater, intercept precipitation, expand urban greenspace, and improve urban livability
  • To consider how changes in the traditional urban drainage design paradigm mesh with ideas of sustainability and green building and help create a constituency for more livable, more sustainable cities
• Call for Papers: 500 word abstract due August 12, 2009.  For submission guidelines and topics click here.

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