Complying with Stormwater Regulations And Ways to Meet g y the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Complying with Stormwater Regulations – And Ways to Meet g y the Challenge

Scott Taylor, P . E.

• Sr. Vice President, RBF Consulting

Chair, CASQA

What Specifically Are the Reg lato T ends? What Specifically Are the Reg lato T ends? Regulatory Trends? Regulatory Trends?

 Low impact development (LID)

l C d Implementation, Capture and Use

 Hydromodification Programs  Monitoring

 Receiving water

S i l t di

 Special studies  Biological  Sediment  Sediment  Pilot Studies

 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)  Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)  Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs)

More Changes (and Costs) More Changes (and Costs) More Changes (and Costs) More Changes (and Costs)

 Reporting  Reporting  Legal Costs

O i ht f th NPDES P it

 Oversight of other NPDES Permits  Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS)  Research  Education

 Pesticides  Herbicides  Pathogens

What Can be Done to Achieve What Can be Done to Achieve Compliance and Bring Costs Under Control? Compliance and Bring Costs Under Control?



Current Pathway is not Sustainable – no clear program that will meet permit requirements program that will meet permit requirements, therefore, no clear final cost



Adaptive stormwater program



TMDLs



Near Term Strategy

W k ith B d ti ti



Work with Boards - negotiation



Long Term Strategy



Work with EPA to implement true source control



Work with EPA to implement true source control

Near Term: Negotiate Near Term: Negotiate Near Term: Negotiate Near Term: Negotiate

MS4 NPDES Permits are on a 5 Year Cycle

 MS4 NPDES Permits are on a 5-Year Cycle  Permits Become More Prescriptive and Costly

with each Cycle with each Cycle

 Develop your Report of Waste Discharge (ROWD)

(i.e., permit application) carefully

 Insist on meeting with Board staff with sufficient

time and frequency to fully vet concerns on draft NPDES Orders NPDES Orders

 Testify at NPDES Adoption Hearings

 Staff – technical issues  Elected - cost and operational issues

Specific I tems to Negotiate Specific I tems to Negotiate Specific I tems to Negotiate Specific I tems to Negotiate

 Draft NPDES Negotiation Items:  Draft NPDES Negotiation Items:

 Inspections

 Businesses  Businesses  Treatment BMPs

 Construction Site Requirements

q

 Industrial Site Requirements  Retrofit Programs  Dry Weather Flow

 Prohibition

 Numeric Action Levels (NALs) and SALs

Monitoring Programs Monitoring Programs

 Monitoring Programs can be the Single Biggest

Budget Line Item g

 Special Studies  Pilot Studies  Biological Monitoring  Sediment  Characterization/Mass Loading  Hydromodification

I nformation Needed During I nformation Needed During Negotiation Negotiation

 Good understanding of problems and sources  Iterative plan to solve the problems  Cost of programs  Revenue sources to fund programs

p g

 Alternative ways to achieve permit goals  Understanding of NGO/regulator priorities  Understanding of NGO/regulator priorities

 Comment letters on major recent renewals  EPA’s Information Collection Request (ICR)  EPA s Information Collection Request (ICR)  Recent permits

TMDLs TMDLs TMDLs TMDLs

 There are Three Basic Rules to TMDL Survival:  There are Three Basic Rules to TMDL Survival:

• 1. Participate Early in the Process



Should you be named?



Should you be named?



TMDL technically sound



Credit trading

• 2. Bring Good Data to the Process



Fair Waste Load Allocations (WLAs) (i.e., discharge limits)

• 3. Develop Partnerships

f l



Economies of scale

L T S L T S Long-Term Strategy Long-Term Strategy

 Stormwater dischargers must ultimately

achieve receiving water quality standards, but g q y there are compliance problems

 The true scope of the problem is unknown:

p p

 Nearly 23 million organic and inorganic substances  About 7 million of these substances are

commercially available1

 Current system is not an efficient approach

1 Daughton (2004)

Ch R i d Ch R i d Change Required Change Required

 We are investing significant resources in the

urbanizing fringe, but this area is not the bl problem

 The emphasis on treatment control or LID is

not the answer for the built environment: not the answer for the built environment:

 Plumbing is wrong, grading is wrong  Costs are too high  Costs are too high  Effectiveness is modest  And, pace of redevelopment is slow:

, p p

Consider… Consider…

 About 110 million acres currently ‘developed’ in

the US (5.5% of land area) ( )

 Redevelopment proceeds modestly….

 ABAG estimates 22,274 acres redeveloped from

, p 1985 to 1995

 This represents 0.5% of land area in the 8 counties

sampled over the 10 year period.

 And, residential areas rarely redevelop

Meanwhile, Regulatory Pressure is Meanwhile, Regulatory Pressure is Meanwhile, Regulatory Pressure is I ncreasing…. Meanwhile, Regulatory Pressure is I ncreasing….



In 1998, there were about 21,749 waterbodies listed as impaired nationally.



In 2008, the number rose to 43,446 waterbodies nationally.

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Leading Causes (US EPA):



Leading Causes (US EPA):

1. Pathogens 2. Mercury 3 Metals 3. Metals 4. Nutrients 5. Sediment 6 PCBs 6. PCBs

Also Consider: Also Consider:

 That many pollutants persist in the

environment

 Many are very soluble  Take years for problems to manifest  Take years for us to recognize a problem  About 4% of the land in the US is home to

75% of the population – impairments should be limited to these areas…

Yet problems occur far outside of urban areas

 Yet, problems occur far outside of urban areas…

Need for Change Need for Change Need for Change Need for Change

 The current regulatory system is reactive and

b d i t hi t lit based on proxies to achieve water quality standards:

Best management p actices (BMPs)

 Best management practices (BMPs)  Numeric sizing

Action levels for individual constituents

 Action levels for individual constituents

 The system is not working

TMDL t ki

 TMDLs taking more program resources  Litigation taking more program resources

Municipal governments being asked to pay for

 Municipal governments being asked to pay for

programs with no clear pathway to the ‘goal’

True Source Control True Source Control

Source Control = keeping potential pollutants out

• f stormwater

 Operational

 More common  Focused on physically keeping potential pollutants out

• f contact with rainfall and stormwater runoff through

covering berming or cleaning covering, berming, or cleaning

 True (or Original)

Focuses on the original source of a potential pollutant

 Focuses on the original source of a potential pollutant

• r on runoff by eliminating or significantly reducing

the existence of the potential pollutant or runoff thereby negating the need to physically prevent thereby negating the need to physically prevent contact between the two

True Source Control True Source Control True Source Control True Source Control

 ↓ Potential Pollutants  ↓ Potential Pollutants

 Reduce the number potential pollutants – Green

chemistry (DTSC) Design with nature chemistry (DTSC), Design with nature

 If you make it, you take care of it (Cradle-to-cradle) –

Product stewardship (CPSC), Extended Producer p ( ), Responsibility (EPR) (CIWMB)

 ↓ Runoff

↓

u o

 Start at the Source / Low Impact

Development (LID) Development (LID)

True Source Control ( True Source Control (↓Potential Pollutants) Potential Pollutants) Product Product-based Pollutants: Conceptual Relationships based Pollutants: Conceptual Relationships

Manufacture True Source Control

Product Product based Pollutants: Conceptual Relationships based Pollutants: Conceptual Relationships

Sale Control Use Release to Source Control urban runoff Urban runoff Treatment discharge Receiving water Costs Effectiveness Treatment Control g

An Example of Source Control An Example of Source Control

 Brake pads are the single

largest source for copper in largest source for copper in highly urbanized watersheds g y in California

19

Traditional Water Quality Treatment Traditional Water Quality Treatment Traditional Water Quality Treatment Cannot Solve Copper Problem Traditional Water Quality Treatment Cannot Solve Copper Problem

 Clean Water Act typically requires

municipalities to solve problems—BUT municipalities to solve problems BUT

 Treatment is technically and economically

infeasible infeasible

 Regulation of brake pads by municipalities

is an option but impractical leading to a is an option, but impractical, leading to a potential patchwork regulatory environment for manufacturers environment for manufacturers

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Brake Pad Partnership / SB 346 Brake Pad Partnership / SB 346 Brake Pad Partnership / SB 346 Brake Pad Partnership / SB 346

 1993 – Copper in brakes first identified as

pp significant source

 1996 – Brake Pad Partnership forms  1996

Brake Pad Partnership forms

 1996 – 2009 - R&D, Shared fact-finding,

Consensus-based decision Consensus based decision

 2008 – Decision triggered  Reformulate

brake pads to be low copper brake pads to be low copper

 2009 – Legislation introduced – SB 346

2010 On the Governors Desk

 2010 – On the Governors Desk…

Costs / Benefits Costs / Benefits

 Chollas Creek watershed – San Diego

 Without brake pad copper reduction = $1.4 B  With = $10s M

 Los Angeles River watershed – Los Angeles

 Without brake pad copper reduction = $15 B  With = $10s M

 Reasonable opportunity to achieve TMDL

Waste Load Allocations – Avoided Cost

Lessons Learned – T S C l Lessons Learned – T S C l True Source Control True Source Control

 Cost / effectiveness  Cost / effectiveness  Public versus private cost / benefits  Control point with most power

p p

 Wastewater – POTW (treatment)  Stormwater – True source of pollutant

In estment based app oach

 Investment-based approach  Slower development time; often needs time to pay off  Often requires:  Often requires:

 Partnerships  New learning – Issues, Parties, Regulations, social change

 Leverage - Can have effect > > > control action

CASQA’s CASQA’s CASQA s Source Control I nitiative CASQA s Source Control I nitiative

 Provide a ‘home’ for True Source Control  Forum for communication / advocacy  Mechanism for coordinated action

 Partnerships / Coalitions  Funding  Activities

Ed ti

 Education  Research  Management (Practice, Regulation / Legislation)  Management (Practice, Regulation / Legislation)

 The Future -

Thank you Thank you

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