Take Action: Ask Mayor Fenty to Follow EPA’s Lead AND Protect Our Rivers and Creeks!
Ask Mayor Adrian Fenty to Follow EPA’s Lead on Stormwater Retention Standards to Protect Our Rivers and Creeks!
Most of us think of rain as cleansing – it washes away all the dirt and grime and leaves everything fresh and clean. But have you ever considered where all that dirt and grime go? When rain falls or snow melts on roads and buildings and parking lots, its natural path into the ground is blocked. Instead of being absorbed like it would be in nature, the stormwater runs off those impervious surfaces, picking up pollution along the way. From there, the pollution/stormwater mix runs into storm drains and gets dumped, untreated, into the Anacostia, Rock Creek and Potomac.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long understood how damaging stormwater pollution is to water quality. Under its Clean Water Act authority, EPA issues permits that require cities to take steps to reduce stormwater runoff. EPA recently issued a draft of the DC stormwater permit, which is called a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System or MS4 permit.
The best way to deal with stormwater is to mimic what happens in nature, by putting that water back into the ground where it falls, rather than funneling it into drains and pipes. This is achieved through “green infrastructure” measures like rain gardens, green roofs, tree cover, permeable pavement, rain barrels, or anything else that keeps rainwater from running off into our sewers. Not only is this a very effective way to deal with stormwater pollution, but increasing vegetation and green space improves air quality, reduces energy costs, and increases property values. The draft DC MS4 permit contains specific targets for implementation of green infrastructure controls in the District and this is good news.
Potomac River - Washington, DC
EPA’s draft permit requires all construction, whether it’s new or rebuilt from existing development, to retain the first 1.2 inches of stormwater on-site during any storm. Retaining stormwater on-site prevents runoff from washing pollutants into the waterways and denigrating water quality. Studies have shown that a 1.2 inch retention standard in the District is feasible and cost effective. In fact, federal buildings in the District have to meet a much higher standard, retaining the first 1.7 inches inches of stormwater on site.
However, Mayor Fenty’s District Department of the Environment (DDOE), one of the agencies responsible for implementing the permit, wants a lower standard with more readily available waivers for developers. Actually, DDOE doesn’t want EPA to issue a retention standard at all, they want to do it themselves. There’s just one problem – by law, DDOE should have already implemented a stormwater retention standard, but they never did. DC City Council passed a law in 2008 requiring DDOE to implement a one inch retention standard for the Anacostia Redevelopment Zone. The deadline for implementation was fall 2009. It’s now summer 2010 and DDOE has issued no standards. In light of its past performance, DDOE’s promise to promptly issue stormwater standards for the entire District lacks credibility. DDOE should support the fair and reasonable retention standard EPA adopted in the draft MS4 permit.
Take Action: Ask Mayor Fenty to Follow EPA’s Lead AND Protect Our Rivers and Creeks!
