From Chesapeake Bay Foundation…

CBF Outlines Plan to Help Pennsylvania Meet Federal Bay Cleanup Standards

(Rock Springs, PA) - Matt Ehrhart, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) today provided testimony before the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Members during the annual Ag Progress Days event.

For his complete testimony, go here>>

Beware Legislation That Would Kill the Bay Cleanup Dressed Up As an “Improvement”

A cow wearing false eyelashes is still not a good dance partner.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell recently endorsed a proposed bill called the Chesapeake Bay Reauthorization and “Improvement” Act.

For full article, go here>>

admin Chesapeake Bay Add new tag, agriculture, Chesapeake Bay, clean water, stormwater best management practices, stormwater legislation, stormwater runoff, stormwater standards, TMDL, water quality, watershed protection

PHILADELPHIA — The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency announced draft sediment limits as the next step in establishing the Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) for the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  The TMDL is a rigorous pollution diet for meeting the water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, and restoring local rivers and streams throughout the 64,000-square-mile watershed.

For more details from PA DEP, go here>>

admin Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay, pollution diet, pollution reduction, sediment, TMDL, total daily maximum load, water quality, water quality standards, WIP

From Pennsylvania Environmental Council…

Allegheny County Office Building Roof Goes Green.

WDUQ news reports on the new County Office roof that will help cool the building and absorb stormwater. The article features a quote by PEC Director of Green Infrastructure Janie French.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato unveiled the County’s latest green building effort today, a green roof covering half of the County Office Building.

For full article go here>>

Ohiopyle ‘Green Streets’ Project beautifies borough while managing stormwater and reducing pollution.

Curbs along parking areas direct stormwater runoff into bioswales, which throughout the project area have been planted with 1,321 perenials, 24 shrubs and 48 trees.  The project beautifies the borough in the heart of Ohiopyle State Park while making parking more functional, managing stormwater run-off, reducing infiltration into sanitary sewer lines, and filtering pollution before it reaches the Youghiogheny River.

For the full article, go here>>

admin green infrastructure Add new tag, bioswales, green infrastructure, green roof, green streets, infiltration, Nonpoint source pollution, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, water quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two public listening sessions on potential changes to the water quality standards regulation before proposing a national rule.

Tuesday, August 24 and Thursday, August 26, 2010

1:00 PM - 2:30 pm EDT, Audio Teleconference

The current regulation, which has been in place since 1983, governs how states and authorized tribes adopt standards needed under the Clean Water Act to protect the quality of their rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries. Potential revisions include strengthening protection for water bodies with water quality that already exceeds or meet the interim goals of the Clean Water Act; ensuring that standards reflect a continued commitment to these goals wherever attainable improving transparency of regulatory decisions; and strengthening federal oversight.

At the sessions, EPA will provide a review of the current regulation and a summary of the revisions the agency is considering. Clarifying questions and brief oral comments (three minutes or less) from the public will be accepted at the sessions, as time permits. EPA will consider the comments received as it develops the proposed rulemaking.

EPA will also hold separate listening sessions for state, tribal and local governments.   EPA expects to publish the proposed revisions to the water quality standards regulation in summer 2011.

More information can be found here>>

admin Events, National clean water, Clean Water Act, rulemaking, US EPA, water quality, water quality standards, watershed protection

From the Editors…

Stormwater management in Pennsylvania remains a confusing mess for many of us:

EPA developments are racing ahead through National Rulemaking:

• Remarkable new stormwater guidance for federal facilities.
• Possible new nationwide stormwater standards (new construction, etc.)
• Plus TMDLs

EPA’s major new Chesapeake Bay-specific requirements

• To be operationalized by each state’s Watershed Implementation Plans.
• Bay Executive Order requirements
• Plus TMDLs
• Pus MS4’s
• Plus Bay-related court determinations

DEP’s new statewide Chapter 102 regulations

DEP’s own implementation of federal programs:

• TMDL’s
• Phase II MS4’s
• Chesapeake Bay

What about the BMP Manual revision process?

How does the PA Act 167 program fit into all of this?

So much is happening on so many levels.  In general, these efforts are well-intentioned, and some of them may be potentially very insightful and on the mark - significant steps forward.

But figuring out what is going to be required by whom has become something of a nightmare for Pennsylvania municipalities and other stormwater stakeholders. There are times when we’ve asked ourselves if we should turn to Vegas oddsmakers to figure out what’s next…

Early on, we at StormwaterPA vowed to make stormwater management clear (or clearer) and tell folks who needed to do what, when, and where.  Though that promise might have been a bit premature, we’re going to mount a special effort here in coming weeks to at least attempt to chart out who is doing what in terms of regulations and relevant guidance, highlighting both adopted and proposed stormwater developments (at the moment, let’s call it a Road Map to Stormwater Regs).  As we move through the process, following the array of issues listed above, we’ll try to map some of this out in a way that will facilitate understanding, and we’ll provide specific references and links to more detailed information sources.  We’ll start with the basics and expand and add detail as we go along.

A couple of points to be made at the outset:

First, by definition, this Road Map will never be completed.  Changes can be expected to continue (though surely the remarkable amount/rate of change that seems to be occurring will lessen!); the Road Map will require updating continuously.

Second, this effort needs input from you - readers, users, stakeholders.  Let us know when our descriptions fail to match reality.  DEP Central may tell us X; DEP Regional may be doing Y.

Lastly, to the extent that this effort manages to portray stormwater management programs with reasonable accuracy, we would hope that over time program inconsistencies will emerge, will be identified and made clear.  Maybe even program changes and improvements will result. But we’re jumping ahead way too quickly!

Tell us what you think.  And as always thanks for listening.

admin Stormwater Regulations Act 167, Chapter 102 regulations, Chesapeake Bay, Clean Water Act, MS4, NPDES, PA BMP Manual, PA DEP, stormwater legislation, stormwater management, stormwater runoff, stormwater standards, TMDL, US EPA