July 2017
Volume 12, Issue 4
President's Corner
Buddy Smith
This edition of ForeCast marks mid-summer for the Southeast. At this time last year, many in our region were facing drought conditions. This year presents opposite conditions, as the Southeast is experiencing the wettest spring since 2003 and the third wettest on record. Dynamic conditions such as these highlight the acclimatization of being a professional in the stormwater industry.  
 
As the summer intensifies, so do the thunderstorms. These conditions present a prime opportunity to visit designs that are functioning well and review those that are failing.  Experiencing both should yield lessons to better develop and implement stormwater control measures through BMP inspection and maintenance. I encourage you to share your own experiences, opinions, ideas and best practices on the SESWA Community Forum.  Utilizing the forum will better the Southeast stormwater community as a whole and better enable us to stay at the forefront in our dynamic industry.

I'd like to personally invite you to continue your education and network with your peers at the upcoming Annual Regional Stormwater Conference this fall.  I hope to see you in Louisville!

As always, I appreciate every member for their service and contributions to our organization.

Buddy Smith, President 
Association News
SESWA's 12th Annual Regional Conference

Mary Walker, Director of EPA Region 4's Water Protection Division, will give the Keynote Address at SESWA's 12th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference this October. The theme of this year's Conference is "Stormwater Solutions in Region 4" and the event will be held at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. The Conference is the ONLY conference focused SOLEY on stormwater education and networking in Region 4. The agenda was developed by your peers and gives you the best networking opportunities with other stormwater professionals in the Southeast. In addition to hearing from EPA, there will be two tracks of great workshop presentations, an Exhibit Hall featuring the latest water quality and flood control technologies, and the annual update on developments in Washington from NACWA. Plus a reception, food functions and CEUs all for one low priceRegister Now and SAVE!   
Articles linked to SESWA Community

Many articles in this edition of ForeCast are linked to postings on the SESWA Community Forum. The forum allows for more detailed information, attachments and ongoing communications as the subject develops. SESWA's Community Forum is a great way to ask questions and share answers with other stormwater professionals without having to go outside of your inbox. Once you subscribe, you can view article postings, participate in communications, post your own information, etc. It's easy to get started - just go to the How-To Guide.

Job Board

SESWA members may post vacancy announcements on the Job Board reaching thousands of qualified stormwater professionals throughout the Southeast at no cost.
In This Issue
Communications Sponsors


S_ME
StormwaterONE
Suntree Technologies
Woolpert

SESWA Board of Directors

Executive Committee

President:
Buddy Smith, EPSC II
Hamilton County, TN

Vice President:
Hillary Repik
Town of Mount Pleasant, SC

Secretary-Treasurer:
Laurie Hawks
Brown and Caldwell

Immediate Past President:
Jeff Corely, PE, CSM
City of Concord, NC

Board Representative:
Thomas Miller
City of Birmingham, AL

To access a full listing of the SESWA Board of Directors, please click here.
2017 SWU Report  

SESWA surveys stormwater utility practices and trends throughout the Southeast, and publishes a Report on results every two years. Information contained in the Report is widely used by local stormwater managers and state policy makers throughout Region 4. The 2017 Southeast Stormwater Utility Report has been provided to the primary contact within each SESWA member organization and to those non-members who returned a survey. Additional copies are available on the SESWA website. If you have any questions, please contact  SESWA at 866-FOR-SESWA. 
National and Regional News 
WOTUS - EPA Moves to Repeal Rule
Kurt Spitzer, SESWA

After President Trump signed an Executive Order directing EPA and ACOE to start the process to withdraw or significantly revise the WOTUS rule, EPA filed a Notice of Intent to initiate rulemaking to rescind or repeal the WOTUS rules adopted in 2015. The process to repeal the rule is essentially the same as proposing a new rule for adoption and requires notice, publication of a draft proposal, and the opportunity for comments, before the new rule may be finalized. The repeal rule was published in the Federal Register on July 27, 2017, starting a 30-day clock during which time comments may be submitted to EPA.  Comments may be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov/.  Please be sure to reference "Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203."    
 
WOTUS - Court Update
Kurt Spitzer, SESWA

There have been no new significant developments in the WOTUS litigation since January, when the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal filed by several regulated interests (including SESWA) of a decision of the Sixth Circuit Court in Ohio. The appeal concerned the issue of whether the Circuit or District court was the proper venue for review of WOTUS and similar rules. The decision by the Supreme Court in January also set the stage for motions by the new Administration and others to seek delays in further actions by the Sixth Circuit Court (which were subsequently granted) until the Supreme Court ruled on the jurisdictional matter. Until a final decision is rendered by a court or the 2015 rule is repealed, implementation of the current WOTUS rule remains stayed nationwide.
Planning
Hamilton County, City of Cleveland and Bradley County, Partner to Educate Teachers
Crystal Bishop, Hamilton County Water Quality Program, TN

In 2006, three MS4 (stormwater) programs started a partnership that spread water education to teachers in multiple school systems throughout southeast Tennessee.  Hamilton County Water Quality Program has teamed up with City of Cleveland and Bradley County stormwater programs to offer a Water Education of Teachers program, known as Project WET.  This is the 11th consecutive year of Project WET.

This year's workshop was held in June at the Ocoee Whitewater Center and George Bartnik was the facilitator.  Each participant received a Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide, and the emphasis of the workshop was Water Quality Education.  Participants were trained on various aspects of watershed focused activities that highlight how watershed areas are impacted by stakeholders.  After lunch, participants were bussed to the Conasauga River for an afternoon of stream discovery which included snorkeling and stream wading.

Over the last eleven years, Project WET has provided training to over 485 educators.  By training just one teacher, Project WET curriculum has the capability of reaching exponential numbers of students.  Teaching environmental responsibility and stewardship to future watershed stakeholders is paramount and this Project WET partnership is an innovative and resourceful way to engage the public in watershed education.  To view the full article or to continue the discussion, please login to the SESWA Community Forum.

Project WET participants snorkeling stream wading at Conasauga River.


BMPs
FAA Airport Policy on Surface Water BMPs Becomes NC Law
Patrick Blandford, HDR   

The State Legislature of North Carolina has enacted as law a policy from FAA's Advisory Circular 150/5200-33B.  The FAA's Advisory Circular suggested that airports work with local governments to review BMPs with standing water features within 5 miles of the airport in order to understand the risk for wildlife attractants that would present the potential for a damaging plane strike (e.g. bird strike).  Session Law 2017-104 prohibits local governments from approving such features within said limits and provides emphasis for replacing existing facilities.  The law also goes on to provide presumptive compliance for post construction runoff from taxiways and runways via infiltration in grassed shoulders and channels surrounding these impervious features.  Login to the SESWA Community Forum to access additional discussion on the practicality of this law.
Regulatory/Policy/Permits
City of Birmingham's Draft Phase I MS4 Permit
Tom Miller, City of Birmingham, AL
 
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has released the City of Birmingham's DRAFT Phase I MS4 Permit for a 30-day Public Review. Most changes to the permit were done to the monitoring program to identify Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements and how well the City was meeting those requirements. The program was modified in 2013 and staff are currently meeting those goals. Secondly, the City anticipates mimicking the post-construction treatment control which is a 1.1 inch runoff during a 25-year storm event. To continue the discussion, login to the SESWA Community Forum.
 
GA Phase II MS4 Small Permit
Barbara Seal, Gwinnett County, GA
 
GA EPD provided Phase II MS4 Permittees an opportunity to comment on the Draft Georgia Phase II Small MS4 Permit from May 23rd through July 14th. This permit is applicable to 118 local governments and expected to be issued in December of 2017. SESWA members should note that the Phase II Small MS4 Permit includes new requirements that many SESWA members commented about in the recently issued Medium Phase I Permit, such as: 1) a runoff reduction requirement to hold on-site the first 1.0 inch of runoff, 2) a requirement to protect trout streams from temperature elevations, 3) an option for local DOTs to determine the feasibility of implementing the runoff reduction requirement on linear projects. The runoff reduction requirement is triggered three years into the permit period, which allows the permittee to develop training programs for design engineers, plan reviewers, inspectors, etc. There will be a second draft permit and formal comment period closer to the issuance date.

Florida's Pathway to Meeting EPA's Phase II MS4 General Permit Remand Rule
Steve Peene, ATM
 
Under the terms of EPA's MS4 General Permit Remand Rule, Florida must define how to implement its Phase II program choosing between the Traditional General Permit, Procedural, and Hybrid approach. Historically, Florida's program followed the procedural approach with a Statewide Generic Permit and issuance of Notice of Intent. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has set a date of January of 2017 to go through rulemaking and finalize any changes. This may change based on delays on the national side. Per discussions with FDEP staff, there is a desire to proceed with fast-track rulemaking and adoption of the EPA rules by reference. In conjunction, FDEP has identified some changes to the program that they would like to see implemented; including alteration of some of the TMDL requirements, and inclusion of additional inventory and inspection requirements. These types of changes would typically require revisions to the Statewide Generic Permit which would preclude completion of the process under a fast track approach. FDEP has also indicated it may implement these changes through procedural means, but this may create challenges because the requirements are not stipulated in the Statewide Permit. The coming year will reveal how FDEP will address these issues.
NACWA Corner 
Provided by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies
 
EPA Postpones Effective Date on Controversial MS4 Permit 
Emily Remmel, Director of Regulatory Affairs

Last month, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for small MS4s in Massachusetts was primed to go into effect on July 1, 2017. This permit, issued by EPA Region 1, included new compliance language that seemingly shifted the traditional Clean Water Act mandate that MS4 reduce the discharge of pollutants to "the maximum extent practicable" (MEP).

Following several legal challenges in various courts, the EPA announced that "justice requires postponement of the effective date." The EPA postponed the permit's effective date until July 1, 2018 and will engage with interested parties and petitioners to resolve conflicts through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) with the ultimate goal of avoiding litigation.

EPA Region 1 also issued a nearly identical permit for small MS4s in New Hampshire. Similarly, this permit has been challenged in federal court. According to EPA's postponement memo, the delayed implementation of the Massachusetts permit will allow parties to explore resolution and align requirements and effective dates for both states.
Don't see news from your state? Please contact us with your news or share your comments on our newsletter by emailing us at SESWA@ksanet.net.

Southeast Stormwater Association
(866) FOR-SESWA (367-7379)