HR 4202  Green Infrastructure for Clean Water

HR 4202 will provide critical support to green infrastructure strategies, improving our ability to effectively manage polluted runoff and sewage overflows while relieving pressure an aging infrastructure.  The bill institutes a green infrastructure program within EPA’s Office of Water, develops several Centers of Excellence for Green Infrastructure to conduct research and provide technical training and invests $1.2 billion in grants for community-based green infrastructure projects.  Passage of the bill will provide multiple benefits beyond improving water management to assure clean water.  The bill will increase innovation in green technology, create jobs, save infrastructure costs and benefit communities with flood reduction, energy efficiency and green spaces.

Proposed in PA  - Water and Wastewater Sustainability

In 2008, Governor Rendell appointed a Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force to recommend actions to secure the future of PA’s water resources.  As a result, the state proposed its first action, yet the proposed legislation is woefully short of achieving sustainability and the goals of the Task Force report.  While the proposed measures for asset management are an important step, the legislation must assure that asset management and any water resource management planning, first and foremost, include water efficiency and green infrastructure practices throughout our built and natural water systems.

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2010 Schuylkill Watershed Congress
March 13th, 2010
Montgomery County Community College - West Campus
Pottstown, Pennsylvania

The Schuylkill Watershed Congress is an annual gathering of citizens interested in understanding, protecting and restoring local watersheds and streams. This event features a diverse program with concurrent and poster sessions covering a broad range of watershed topics.

The 2010 Keynote Presentation offers a panel discussion titled “How to Challenge a Stormwater Permit and Win: A Look at the Crum Creek Neighbors Decision. Michele Adams (Meliora Environmental Design), James A. Schmid, Ph. D. (Schmid & Company, Inc., Consulting Ecologists), and John Wilmer (Environmental Attorney), will tell the story behind the recent successful legal challenge to a stormwater permit given to a developer in an Exceptional Value designated watershed in Delaware County.

Complete details on all sessions being offered and for registration and sponsorship information can be found here

Registration forms can be downloaded here

admin Announcements BMPs, clean water, Delaware River Basin, environmental site design, flood control, Nonpoint source pollution, rainwater collection, Schuylkill River, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, water quality, watershed protection, wet weather

There has been alot of talk about “green infrastructure” over the past couple of years–and communities all across the nation are slowly bmoving towards this more natural approach.

From USEPA:

Green infrastructure is an approach to wet weather management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Green Infrastructure management approaches and technologies infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrologies.

At the largest scale, the preservation and restoration of natural landscape features (such as forests, floodplains and wetlands) are critical components of green stormwater infrastructure. By protecting these ecologically sensitive areas, communities can improve water quality while providing wildlife habitat and opportunities for outdoor recreation.

On a smaller scale, green infrastructure practices include rain gardens, porous pavements, green roofs, infiltration planters, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and landscape irrigation.

In Pennsylvania, these ideas are starting to take hold–and the Philadelphia Water Department is at the forefront of using green solutions to meet the challenges presented by rain. The Philadelphia Art Museum’s new Parking lot features a green roof and other landscape features to control runoff,  and the Water Department has started phasing in a new parcel based fee structure that encourages landowners to manage runoff on their properties rather than shunt it to the nearest sewers. The Inquirer looks at the city’s plan in an article published today.

EPA’s Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure website is a great resource to learn more.

So are we: Stormwater PA is in the process of developing a series of video case studies that look at green infrastructure, so keep checking back; they’ll be available soon!

admin Weekly News BMPs, buffers, clean water, economic stimulus, flood control, green infrastructure, green roof, rain barrels, rain garden, rainwater collection, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, water quality, wet weather

Delaware County, PA — There is far more to creating a quality residential development than grading a property and putting up homes. Conservation design looks at natural features, site constraints, and stormwater management — long before construction begins.

When Trilogy Investments bought one of the last remaining large parcels of property in Thornbury Township, they envisioned building 458 residential units on large lots throughout the tract–exactly what the township’s zoning allowed. When Trilogy’s President John Lynch saw that the township had other hopes and concerns–and was willing to be flexible in finding a solution that was beneficial to all–he realized it was a whole new game. The Cherry Creek cluster development became a model of conservation design that preserved woodlands, wetlands, and fields — and ended up holding 241 homes.

Says John Lynch:

I guess there’s a question of whether I’m doing this type of development for altruistic reasons or not. The answer is I’m not. First and foremost it’s a business. So normally when I  get involved in new projects, I look at them pretty analytically–what are my rights under law–and I then try to do better. When there are people on the other side of the table who share the goal of doing something better, so that there’s a win-win scenario, then it’s all green lights and I will pursue that with more vigor and more gusto than you can imagine…

The video is also available on the StormwaterPA YouTube Playlist and will be StormwaterPA.org with more project details soon. Check it Out and add it to your Site!

admin Low Impact Development buffers, clean water, environmental site design, flood control, infiltration, LID, non-structural BMPs, rain garden, rainwater collection, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, water quality, watershed protection, wetlands

At the end of November we offered questions and concerns about Riparian and Wetland Buffers for Water-Quality Protection: A Review of Current Literature, an article that was published in the November issue of Stormwater Magazine.  This week we offer other views on Riparian Buffers.

From the Stroud Water Research Center…

Stroud reports that the single most important factor in determining the quality of a stream’s water is the amount of forested land in its watershed. In 2008, the Stroud Water Research Center published Protecting Headwaters: The Scientific Basis for Safeguarding Stream and River Ecosystems. Although the focus is on headwater streams, the piece discusses forest buffers and how they provide many in-stream benefits including pollutant control, maintaining temperature control, providing food resources and habitat for aquatic organisms, and assisting in bank stabilization.  Click here for an executive summary or here for the full narrative.

From the Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water…

Pennsylvania Campaign for Clean Water has published its own platform on Proposed Buffer Requirements for Pennsylvania.  Read a summary of select studies reporting percentage of pollutant reductions based on buffer size.  Recommended is a minimum 100-foot buffer on all streams with additional buffer width for Special Protection waters, steep slopes, and more recently, headwaters, and impaired waters.  For the full Riparian Buffer Platform, click here.

admin Stormwater BMPs buffers, Chesapeake Bay, clean water, flood control, forested buffers, green infrastructure, hydrology, stormwater best management practices, stormwater runoff, stream restoration, watershed protection