Holiday Wish: Less Polluted Storm Water Runoff

From NOAA Digital Coast:

We wish for reduced polluted runoff. Our Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program is working w/ states #HolidayWish
http://go.usa.gov/x8nwV




dec0516

EPA Provides $149,000 for Environmental Improvements in San Juan Community

From EPA:

EPA Provides $149,000 for Environmental Improvements

in San Juan Community

            Contact: Brenda Reyes, reyes.brenda@epa.gov, 787-977-5869

(San Juan, P.R.  – November 29, 2016) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Judith Enck was joined today by a representative of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, representatives of the Resident Commissioner Elect Jennifer Gonzalez, and ENLACE Executive Director Lyvia Rodriguez to announce new funding for the Caño Martín Peña community. EPA will provide a total of $149,000 for green infrastructure projects. $80,000 will be used to work on green infrastructure design plans within the Caño Martín Peña community and $69,000 will be used to build a rain garden within the Caño Martín Peña community and study its effectiveness. Both projects seek to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality in the San Juan Bay Estuary’s urban community.

Green infrastructure mimics natural processes to address flooding issues and to manage rainwater and use it as a resource. Green infrastructure replaces paved areas with permeable surfaces, allowing the rain to soak through the surface rather than running off it. Innovative green infrastructure designs benefit the environment and the community by naturally filtering water, by keeping pollutants from entering waterbodies, and by preventing wastewater systems from being overloaded.

“EPA is pleased to provide much needed funding to this community in San Juan,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “This vibrant, densely populated community of 35,000 residents who live along the polluted canal will be able to use these resources to improve the economic and environmental conditions of where they live.”

The Smart Growth funding was awarded to the design firm Spackman Mossop Michaels to work on green infrastructure designs within the Caño Martín Peña community. Over the next year, green infrastructure design options will be developed for five types of locations: residential water plazas; community parks or open green spaces; walking trails; a water plaza for existing vacant lands; and entryway water plazas. The project’s final report will identify how the design options can be implemented throughout Puerto Rico.

Cedarville Engineering Group, LLC will work with Marvel & Marchand Architects LLP of San Juan to design, build, and evaluate a green infrastructure project within the Caño Martín Peña community. This project will begin construction in December 2016 at Albert Einstein High School, Calle Haydee Rexach, Esquina Borinquen, in San Juan and run through 2017. The study will monitor effectiveness of the green infrastructure designs, determine maintenance needs, and provide general assistance for the development and installation of green infrastructure practices for treating polluted runoff.

EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program to help communities develop green building and green infrastructure systems and to provide equitable development and housing options for residents. EPA’s Regional Applied Research Effort Program provides research on high-priority environmental science issues.

For more information on EPA’s Smart Growth strategies, visit: https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth.  For more information on EPA’s Regional Applied Research Effort Program, visit: https://www.cfda.gov/programs/66.517.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2.

            16-118

$70,000 in Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance to Omaha, Neb.

Press release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

$70,000 in Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance to Omaha, Neb.

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, (913) 551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov (news media only)

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 19, 2012) – EPA is providing $70,000 in technical assistance to the City of Omaha, Neb., for development of tools that will encourage incorporation of green infrastructure into community improvement projects.

“Green infrastructure provides many community benefits including the reduction of stormwater runoff, neighborhood revitalization and reduction of pollutants in local streams,” said Karl Brooks, regional administrator. “The technical assistance will support work such as a review of city codes and ordinances to identify barriers to green infrastructure and recommend appropriate revisions as needed.”

Stormwater is one of the most widespread challenges to water quality. Large volumes of polluted stormwater degrade our nation’s rivers, lakes and aquatic habitats and contribute to downstream flooding. Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waters by treating rain where it falls and helps to keep polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems.

Nationally, EPA is providing $950,000 in technical assistance to help 17 cities expand the use of green infrastructure to improve water quality and benefit communities. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include rain gardens, vegetated swales, wetlands, green roofs, and permeable pavement. Communities are increasingly using green infrastructure to supplement or substitute for traditional infrastructure investments such as pipes, filters, and ponds.

# # #

Columbia N.H. Sand & Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
March 27, 2012

Contacts: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Columbia N.H. Sand and Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

(Boston, Mass. – March 27, 2012) – CSG Holdings, Inc. of Columbia, N.H. faces a possible fine of up to $532,500 from EPA for allowing polluted stormwater and process water from its Columbia facility to flow into nearby waters, in violation of the Clean Water Act.  CSG Holdings is the former operator of Columbia Sand and Gravel, a mining facility on the banks of the Connecticut River.

According to allegations in the complaint, CSG Holdings discharged process waste waters and stormwater from the facility without proper permits and violated the federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations by failing to prepare and implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan. The recent complaint against CSG Holdings states that the violations were discovered by EPA’s New England office in 2010.

Stormwater monitoring by CSG Holdings confirmed that stormwater discharges from its sand and gravel mining and aggregate processing operations contain total suspended solids at levels that exceed permit benchmarks for their industrial sector.  When a facility's stormwater discharges exceed benchmark levels, the facility must review its stormwater control measures to determine if changes are necessary and make these changes as needed.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of process waste waters without a permit. The law also requires that industrial facilities, such as sand and gravel facilities, have controls in place to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that sets guidelines and best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants. Without on-site controls, runoff from sand and gravel facilities can flow directly to the nearest waterway and can cause water quality impairments such as siltation of rivers, beach closings, fishing restrictions, and habitat degradation. As stormwater flows over these sites, it can pick up pollutants, including sediment, used oil, and other debris. Polluted process water discharges or stormwater runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality.

Every year, thousands of gallons of oil are spilled from oil storage facilities, polluting New England waters. Even the  effects of smaller spills add up and damage aquatic life, as well as public and private property. Spill prevention plans are critical to prevent such spills or, if they do occur, adequately address them.

In May 2011, CSG Holdings sold its Columbia, N.H. facility to another owner/operator. The new owner maintains the facility’s stormwater management system and is authorized to discharge stormwater under a general permit covering discharges from industrial facilities.


More information: Stormwater control for Industrial facilities (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/indust.cfm)

#   #  #

Airports Prepare for EPA’S Deicing Regs - Cover Story - Pollution Engineering

Airports Prepare for EPA’S Deicing Regs - Cover Story - Pollution Engineering

Proposed Storm Water Permit Incorporates Low Impact Development

News release from EPA Region 10:


EPA’s Proposed Stormwater Permit for JBLM Incorporates Low Impact Development to Protect Puget Sound

(Seattle – January 31, 2012) Due to its size, population and proximity to Puget Sound, Joint Base Lewis-McChord has received a proposed Municipal Stormwater discharge permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The permit, when final, is expected to help guide how stormwater is managed across nearly 142 square miles of base property over the next decade and beyond.

Located just south of Tacoma, JBLM is recognized as the largest military installation on the West Coast. The most recent population estimate for the base was 95,000 people, including military personnel, military dependants residing on base, civilian employees, and visitors.

"JBLM plays a vital role in our national security and the regional economy," said Mike Bussell, Director of EPA’s office of Water and Watersheds in Seattle. "So we designed this new permit to help them accomplish their mission of providing a safe, healthy community for those who serve our country, while reducing the storm water pollution threat to base streams, lakes and Puget Sound."

Stormwater (surface runoff from rain and snow melt) is recognized as a major source of pollution to the Puget Sound. Commercial and housing development alters the land’s natural ability to absorb and evaporate rainfall. Expanding impervious surfaces (like roads and roofs) then converge with a growing population to produce more vehicle related pollution that settles on those surfaces. When it rains, it all runs off into lakes, rivers, streams and ultimately the Puget Sound.

EPA’s draft municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit for JBLM is the first such proposed permit for a military or other federal facility in western Washington. The draft permit requires specific actions and activities that must be accomplished over at least the next five years to protect local waters.

JBLM has been implementing a stormwater program for several years in anticipation of receiving a permit from EPA. Among the new requirements under the proposed permit, the base must control runoff from all construction sites; control runoff from all new development and redevelopment sites; map, inspect, and maintain the storm system, and engage JBLM employees and the community about preventing pollutants in storm water runoff.

Due to its proximity to Puget Sound, the Base permit also requires:

• stormwater runoff from redevelopment and new projects must meet performance standards through use of Low Impact Development (LID) techniques and, if needed, traditional stormwater features (detention ponds);
• a new construction project threshold of 5,000 square feet or greater;
• a program to reduce runoff from the existing developed areas;
• a biological stream health monitoring program using aquatic insects in Clover and Murray Creeks.

EPA’s proposed permit requires LID practices such as rain gardens, permeable pavement, native vegetation areas, and green roofs to avoid or lessen the reliance on traditional stormwater pipes and ponds. By using LID, a larger portion of rainfall will be intercepted, infiltrated, evaporated, or reused to avoid excess runoff. These actions will help maintain or restore a more natural stream flow throughout the year, replenish groundwater, and help protect fish and other aquatic organisms. It will also reduce the influx of pollutants washed into the streams, creeks and lakes on the base or into Puget Sound.

EPA will hold a public meeting to discuss the permit on:

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lakewood Library

6300 Wildaire Road Southwest

Lakewood, Washington 98499

6:00 pm open house & 6:30 – 8:00 pm public meeting

Comments on the Draft Permit Will Be Accepted through March 30, 2012

Send or e-mail comments by March 30, 2012 to:

EPA Region 10

Office of Water and Watersheds, OWW-130

Attn: NPDES Stormwater – JBLM

1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900

Seattle, WA 98101

or via email to the following address: vakoc.misha@epa.gov

After the comment period ends EPA will consider and respond to all comments, and make any necessary changes to the draft permit. The Washington Department of Ecology will also consider certifying the permit in accordance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The EPA Director of the Office of Water & Watersheds will then make a final decision about permit issuance.

For a copy of the Draft Permit:


http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/stormwater/homehttp://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/npdes+public+notices/jblm-ms4-pn-2011

For more about how EPA works to protect water quality from stormwater in the Pacific Northwest: 

http://www.epa.gov/region10/stormwater