Could a Trend in Stormwater Issues Be Developing in Pennsylvania?

Abstract

As Pennsylvania experiences wet weather events that are becoming more frequent and intense, managing stormwater runoff is becoming an increasingly challenging issue for residents and municipalities. In fact, managing stormwater probably will soon become a mandatory requirement for many municipalities that have thus far been exempt from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit program under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to propose a rule, as part of the May 2010 settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation over the impaired water quality of Chesapeake Bay, which would expand the MS4 program to include small municipalities in currently non-urbanized areas in order to achieve a more holistic, watershed-based approach to managing stormwater. Considering that Pennsylvania currently boasts having 2,565 municipal jurisdictions, with nearly 1,000 of those jurisdictions with an MS4 permit, an expansion of the MS4 program will likely have a significant impact on the breadth of stormwater control at the local level. The new EPA rule, originally scheduled to be finalized by 2012, has yet to be proposed, but EPA has suggested that a proposal could come in the near future. In addition to the new EPA rule, a heightened focus on better stormwater management has resulted in several trends, including attempts to use Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) to control stormwater runoff and an increased use of stormwater infrastructure.In January 2009, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, along with other conservation organizations and individuals, sued EPA in the federal district court for the District of Columbia, alleging that it failed to comply with the Clean Water Act and the terms of the Chesapeake Bay Agreements of 2000. The lawsuit was settled in May 2010.Green stormwater infrastructure generally refers to stormwater runoff reduction strategies using land use, site design, and urban retrofits (e.g., green roofs, porous pavements). In particular, green infrastructure has frequently been suggested or used as a way to reduce sewer overflows due to heavy volumes of stormwater runoff generated during wet weather.