Nov. 20 PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Planning Steering Committee Meeting To Focus On Stormwater

The PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Planning Steering Committee will meet on November 20 in Room 105 of the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Most of the agenda for the meeting will be a review and discussion of the Stormwater Workgroup recommendations and a progress report on the local clean water pilot planning initiatives in Adams, Franklin, Lancaster and York counties.

Among the recommendations made by the Stormwater Workgroup are--

-- Require 1,000 industrial facilities covered by individual or PAG-03 General Permits to implement stormwater pollution reductions needed by MS4 communities and other sectors;

-- DEP develop a county or regional permitting approach for future MS4 permits;

-- Require subsequent MS4 permits to implement green infrastructure to both reduce nutrients and sediment, along with control the rate and volume of water with more opportunities for county or watershed solutions;

-- Provide incentives for establishing new riparian forest buffers outside urban areas in the MS4 permit process;

-- Credit the upgrade of existing Chapter 102 best management practices toward required pollution reductions for a proposed development site;

-- PennVEST should create a special financing program in which counties could establish a revolving fund to provide low interest loans to municipalities for BMP easements;

-- Authorize county and local governments to grant tax reductions to landowners who provide easements on their property to municipalities for stormwater management;

-- Enforce the requirements in the Stormwater Management Act (Act 167);

-- Discussion of requiring stormwater pollution reductions from developed land not just urbanized areas expanding the area to be regulated; and

-- Pass legislation to regulate fertilizer applications-- Senate Bill 792.

The group looked at lots of options for achieving the required reductions and provided a discussion of various combinations in their report to the Steering Committee.

Click Here to register to attend the meeting by webinar.  Participants will also need to call in 1-650-479-3208, PASSCODE 643 952 548.

For more information, visit the PA Chesapeake Bay Watershed Planning Steering Committee  webpage.
(Photo: Butterfly Acres stormwater management, groundwater recharge project, Lancaster County.)

Green Infrastructure Links:

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Green Infrastructure Offers Triple Benefits, Cost Effective Solutions To Stormwater Pollution, Reducing Flood Damage

The Economic Value Of Green Infrastructure: Calculating A Return On Investments In Parks, Watershed Restoration, Farmland BMPs, Open Space

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