The 16th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference will be held at the Hilton Head Marriott in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina on October 6-8, 2021. SESWA offers the only Regional Conference focused solely on stormwater education and challenges in stormwater management. The comprehensive agenda was developed by your peers throughout the Southeast with YOU in mind. The conference will feature great keynote and breakout speakers, innovative stormwater products in the exhibit hall, networking opportunities with other stormwater professionals, access to continuing education, and much more. Register by August 6th to take advantage of discounted early-bird rates!

The Southeast Stormwater Association is excited to announce its plans to host a waterway cleanup project in conjunction with this year’s 16th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference. A limited number of conference participants will have the opportunity to volunteer for this fun, meaningful and practical exercise to help keep Beaufort County Beautiful. Conference registrants will be contacted directly with details on how to sign up. Watch your email for details coming soon!

Thank you to all that participated in the recent membership survey pertaining to SESWA’s services. We value your feedback! To show our appreciation, we have awarded a complimentary registration to SESWA’s 16th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference to one lucky survey participant. Congratulations to Neil Desai with Beaufort County! We hope you enjoy the conference!

If you missed the July webinar but still want to take advantage of this free member benefit, don’t worry. SESWA members have access to the A Flood Mitigation Project Success Story webinar recording at no cost thanks to our 2021-22 Communications Sponsors!

With all of the job opportunities that are now opening up, it can be hard to get your vacancies in the spotlight. The SESWA Job Board is the perfect place to connect with other stormwater professionals across the Southeast and let them know you are hiring. Posting job openings is easy and FREE for SESWA members. All postings are featured for up to 30 days. Visit the SESWA Job Board and post your vacancies today!

Visit SESWA’s online Community Forum and connect with other stormwater professionals across the Southeast. The Forum can be found under the "Members Only" tab on the SESWA website. Join this virtual gathering place to ask a question or post something that is happening in your area that might be helpful to others. Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates!

A federal district court in South Carolina has granted EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ request to remand the previous Administration’s 2020 definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS) for further revision but declined to vacate the rule itself. Vacating the 2020 rule would have resulted in the reinstatement of the 2015 WOTUS policies. Remanding the rule in effect grants the new Administration more time to develop its own WOTUS definitions. The Court’s ruling carries no binding precedent but may be viewed as being “persuasive” in other jurisdictions. Visit SESWA's Advocacy page for WOTUS timeline and summary of impacts.

The wastewater treatment (WWT) plant in Maui County (Hawaii) is now being required to obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit to govern discharge of treated wastewater into injection wells that eventually finds its way to a jurisdictional waterbody - the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time that the US Supreme Court’s decision requiring surface water permits for pollutants that travel through groundwater emerge in surface waters or where there is a functional equivalent of a direct discharge to a WOTUS waterbody. The decision will likely have implications for other WWT and similar discharges, such as those from animal feeding operations and coal ash disposal sites.

The window to comment on proposed revisions to the NPDES general permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities has now closed. Sometimes referred to as the Construction General Permit (CGP) the current permit will expire in February of 2022. A recording of a webinar on the proposed changes along with additional information can be found on EPA’s website. For more information, contact Michael Mitchell at EPA Region IV or Greg Schaner at the Office of Water at EPA Headquarters.

Stormwater pollution is a problem that impacts public health and water quality in communities across the country. The Campus RainWorks Challenge invites today’s students to become part of the solution.  EPA is pleased to launch its 10th Annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a green infrastructure design competition for American colleges and universities that seeks to engage with the next generation of environmental professionals and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices. Registration opens September 1, 2021, and the deadline for entries is December 10, 2021. Please share this announcement with college students and faculty in your networks. Visit the official 2021 Campus RainWorks Challenge Competition Brief or contact RainWorks@epa.gov for more information.

There has been much discussion in the media concerning the efforts of Congress to provide more funding for infrastructure. As of the publication of this newsletter, three bills are the primary vehicles for changes and increases in funding during this Session of Congress.

HR 3684 (INVEST in America Act) is a $715B surface transportation and water infrastructure bill that has passed the House. It addresses provisions related to federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and rail programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT). It extends funding for federal-aid highway, transit, and safety programs; reauthorizes several surface transportation programs, including the federal-aid highway program, transit programs, highway safety, motor carrier safety, and rail programs; addresses climate change through strategies to the impacts on surface transportation systems; and includes vulnerability assessments to identify opportunities to enhance the resilience of the surface transportation system and ensure the efficient use of federal resources.

HR 1915 (Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2021) creates or reauthorizes several grant programs for infrastructure to treat water pollution, such as wastewater or stormwater. It reauthorizes programs to control water pollution and pilot projects to address wet weather discharges and authorizes alternative water source projects and measures to manage, treat or recapture stormwater. Lastly, the legislation requires EPA to award grants to owners of publicly owned treatment works for the treatment of perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS). HR 1915 has passed out of committee and is on the House Calendar. It would provide about $40B over five years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs.

S 914 (Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021) reauthorizes or establishes a variety of programs for water infrastructure. It supports programs to provide safe drinking water or to treat wastewater, such as sewer overflows or stormwater. It reauthorizes and revises the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF. S 914 has passed the Senate and would provide about $35B in new funding for water infrastructure.

Did you know State Revolving Fund programs have a Green Project Reserve (GPR) that is 10% of a state's annual Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) allotment; that most states have a lower interest rate for GPR projects; and that most don't get enough GPR applications to fully utilize it? So how do you leverage these funds for stormwater needs?  First, know how your state prioritizes GPR projects. All prioritize projects that utilize green infrastructure and have water quality benefits but understanding your specific state's criteria and how to gain the maximum points is important. For instance, intersections with impaired waters and total maximum daily load (TMDL) implementation will garner more points. Second, develop a stormwater Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that allows annual prioritization of needs and identification of projects that will be most competitive for outside funding. Third, know your state's application deadlines and what is required. Each state has a different schedule and process that may impact when you need to apply and the level of detail required. Finally, apply for these funds when you have an eligible project! Only GPR projects compete for these funds and each year this funding resource for stormwater projects goes largely untapped.

House Bill 53 passed during the recently completed 2021 Legislative Session and requires local governments with wastewater or stormwater management systems to create a 20-year needs analysis for those systems. The analysis must include a description of the system, the number of future residents served, revenues and expenditures, maintenance costs, etc. The compiled information will be filed with the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR). The first analysis is due on June 20, 2022, and every five years thereafter. EDR is currently refining the survey instrument that will be used to gather information.

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Southeast Stormwater Association

www.SESWA.org

(866) FOR-SESWA (367-7379)