Friday, August 31, 2018

DEP Has Storm Recovery Information Available, Time For Real Investment In Green Infrastructure Solutions With Multiple Benefits

The Department of Environmental Protection has available a resource for understanding the permit and notification requirements affecting those working in or adjacent to streams impacted by flooding called Guidelines For Maintaining Streams In Your Community.
The guide is a first step in determining what regulatory requirements may apply before beginning a project.
It contains a "green, yellow, and red light” list of potential stream activities to indicate whether permits are likely to be required, and additional sections titled “Good Rules of Thumb” and “Myth vs. Reality.”
Stream work that is not properly designed and permitted can inadvertently cause conditions to worsen in the next flood event, also impacting downstream neighbors.
The new guide is intended to proactively share information with the public so that stream work is done in an environmentally-sensitive manner, and in a way that reduces the likelihood of future problems.
Click Here to download a copy.
Mosquito Precautions
Be sure to take precautions from West Nile Virus carrying mosquitoes.  All this rain and warm weather has provided near-perfect breeding conditions.
DEP has scheduled mosquito spraying operations for Columbia, Lycoming and Schuylkill counties on September 4 and 5.  Click Here for more.
Other upcoming spraying events are listed on the West Nile Virus Program homepage (lower right) or Click Here to check on spraying in other parts of the state.
For more information about West Nile Virus and the state's surveillance and control program, please visit the West Nile Virus website
Much More Info
DEP has other information available in dealing with storm-related impacts to drinking water wells, water testing, flood recovery, managing debris, problems with flood-damaged storage tanks and much more.
Visit DEP’s Storm-Related Information webpage.
The Future Is Green….. Infrastructure
Why invest $1 in one solution when you can invest that same $1 to help solve 3 problems?
With the heavy rainfall events over the last few weeks, green infrastructure is proving to be a cost-effective solution to stormwater management and flood reduction as well as improving water quality.
Every dollar invested in green infrastructure like restored floodplains and wetlands, forest buffers, infiltration areas, rain gardens and recreation areas with built in stormwater benefits yields triple benefits, not like single purpose cement and cinder block structures.
Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, as well as Lycoming, Monroe and York counties and groups of communities like in the Wyoming Valley have already turned to green infrastructure with its multiple benefits to meet water quality goals with a single investment.
Pennsylvania’s initiative to develop the state’s Phase III Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan covering half the state is focused on developing county by county list of green infrastructure policies and practices needed to fulfill the state’s Chesapeake Bay obligations.
To learn more about green infrastructure see the articles below and read Meeting The Challenge Of Keeping Pennsylvania Clean, Green And Growing.
It’s time we get away from single purpose solutions, especially where taxpayers money is invested, and invest in the triple benefits of green infrastructure to keep Pennsylvania Clean, Green and Growing.
(Photo: Flooding in Lancaster County outside Manheim on Route 772, PennLive.com.)
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