Stormwater Management for the Next Decade: How to Thrive in the Face of Change
Stormwater Management for the Next Decade: How to Thrive in the Face of Change
Stormwater Management Changes Are Already Here and More Will Come! Major changes are coming soon to stormwater management. What we have been doing is simply not sufficient to protect and restore the waters of our state and nation as the authors of the Clean Water Act intended. Everyone will face changes. Those who are prepared will thrive and those who are not will suffer. The construction community already is facing long overdue improvements in enforcement by state agencies and EPA is revisiting and will put out a new effluent limit in the future. Better use of available technologies and better management will be needed to meet construction general permit requirements. Monitoring will be, if not required, a necessity to reduce liability. MS4s will face new requirements including monitoring and compliance enforcement. These requirements are coming at a time when local government resources are severely strained. The intent of this workshop is to provide both a refresher on both erosion and sediment control and stormwater management, provide an update on anticipated changes and share ideas to help address the coming changes more effectively and efficiently Presenters Presenters for this workshop are Mr. Michael Mullen, Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper, and Mr. Ken Creel, Regional Extension Agent for Home Grounds, Gardens, and Pest Management. Mr. Mullen has been involved in stormwater management issues for over a decade. In the past he has developed and taught erosion and sediment and stormwater management courses at Troy University, provided erosion and sediment control training for City of Tuscaloosa personnel. He also served as the facilitator for the Alabama Erosion and Sediment Control Task Force while under contract to ADEM. Mr. Mullen has been a CPESC since 2000. Since 2006 he has been the Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and has patrolled construction sites, provided expert testimony to other waterkeepers and has played a role in development of the Alabama Muddy Water Watch Project led by Mobile Bay Keeper. Mr. Ken Creel Regional Extension Agent Alabama Cooperative Extension System will speak to the subjects of rain gardens and rain barrels that can be used in business and home applications. Erosion Control and Sediment Control To date erosion control and sediment control measures in Alabama have been rather poorly enforced. Some, perhaps many contractors, still do not feel that ESC is part of the construction job. Improved ADEM enforcement including the use of cease orders has been underway for some time now and this improved enforcement is likely to increase. Suits by environmental advocacy groups and by downstream property owners are increasing and more often than ever leading to significant settlements. The risks of not paying adequate attention to full and effective compliance with construction stormwater permits make it critical for everyone to strive for compliance. Similarly, failure to implement post-construction stormwater controls is no longer going to be tolerated by state and federal agencies. Additionally, older methods of post-construction stormwater management including reliance on stormwater detention ponds alone, do not protect receiving waters. Post-construction treatment to the maximum extent practicable (MEP) will require innovative use of Low Impact Development (LID) practices. Payment: You may RSVP by email and pay at the class, or you may send a $15 check to: FRCA, POB 275, Brownsboro, AL. 35741 Mailing deadline is November 29th FRCA is a tax exempt organization (501(c) 3, so all fees are tax exempt. Please RSVP if you are coming to: Soos Weber weber-caudill@att.net or call for information 256-509-1219.
Presented by
Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper, Inc.
And the Alabama Cooperative Extension System
