Nonpoint Pollution | Success Stories | Urban | 2002

Urban Success Stories: Archives (2002)

Note: Highlighted projects are not necessarily funded by the Coastal Nonpoint Program nor do they necessarily represent projects that have been approved by NOAA and EPA to remove remaining conditions on state programs.

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS

Web-based Responsible Land Disturber (RLD) Training and Certification Program: The Web-based Responsible Land Disturber Certification (RLD) Program, a new collaborative initiative between the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the Virginia Department of Information Technology (DIT), environmentalists and developers, is a revolutionary online training and certification program for construction workers, excavators, and contractors. The Program was created to meet the training and certification requirements contained in Virginia's newly revised Erosion and Sediment Control Law which went into effect July 1, 2001. The revised law requires the state to design, approve, test, and fully implement a new training and certification program for land disturbance professionals in less than 90 days. No additional funding or staff support was authorized in the legislation even though DCR anticipated the RLD client volume would be five times the existing client volume for all certifications currently issued by the Department. Therefore, DCR in collaboration with DIT, decided to pursue a brand new web-based technology approach in order to meet these challenges.

The web-based RLD Program has exceeded all financial, statutory and chronological requirements of the new law and has greatly enhanced DCR's ability to serve its clients. Benefits of the RLD program include: (1) offers tremendous cost savings for DCR and its clients; (2) vastly improves speed, efficiency, accessibility, and capacity of the training and certification operation; (3) links complaint response, local program review and enforcement action with training and certification to allow DCR to teach exactly the information needed in a particular locality; (4) improves accountability; (5) introduces an entirely new and previously underserved segment of the population (i.e. contractors) to the computer and the internet; and (5) easily transfers to local governments, other states, and the entire country. Additionally, the RLD Program facilitates post certification learning. DCR will be able to easily distribute e-bulletins to all RLD Certificate holders or specific messages to individuals in order to resolve or avoid field complaints and enforcement actions. The digital RLD exam question and answer database also allows DCR to dynamically reflect real time onsite enforcement and compliance issues through database linkages. To date, over 5,000 individuals from over 28 different states coast to coast have successfully become certified through the RLD Program. The RLD Program is creating an educated, connected, and accountable community of Responsible Land Disturbers to cost effectively mitigate and minimize the negative effects of land development on the Commonwealth's soil and water resources. For additional information, contact Larry Gavan, VA Department of Conservation and Recreation.

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Georgia Developed Greenspace Program: The Georgia legislature created the Georgia Greenspace Program overseen by the Department of Natural Resources. The Greenspace Program, a voluntary, non-competitive, county-based program, establishes a framework within which developed and rapidly developing counties, and their municipalities, can preserve community greenspace. The state legislature appropriated $30 million annually to the program since its inception, July 1, 2000. The money is deposited into the Georgia Greenspace Trust Fund that may also hold federal or donated funds or any interest income. Counties with a population of at least 60,000 individuals or an average growth of at least 800 people per year, are eligible for the funds if they develop and implement plans to permanently protect at least 20 percent of the county's geographic area as natural, undeveloped greenspace. The Greenspace Plans must further one or more of the nine program goals; five of those address water quality protection. Currently, the Georgia Community Greenspace Program allows for permanent protection as fee-simple acquisition with funds that require land to be kept in perpetuity, as well as, conservation easements and permanent restrictive covenants. The five-member Georgia Greenspace Commission, which establishes the program policies, also reviews and approves all community greenspace programs. After a county's greenspace plan is approved, they receive formula grants from the Trust Fund to assist them is acquiring property or conservation easements that qualify as greenspace. Participating counties have to establish a matching Community Greenspace Trust Fund to receive the grant monies.

The Georgia Greenspace Commission approved community greenspace programs for 55 counties and 59 cities in FY01 and FY02. Based on the most recent U.S. census, 58 counties, including 7 coastal counties, are eligible to participate in the program during the FY03 grant cycle. To assist communities develop their greenspace programs, the DNR has also developed "Greenspace Planning Tools" consisting lists of state and federal lands that qualify as permanently protected, funding sources that can be used to match state Greenspace funds, guides to comprehensive planning, and model open space ordinances.

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U.S. Virgin Islands Holds Second Annual NPS Committee Meeting: The US Virgin Islands is holding its second annual Nonpoint Source Committee meeting on January 24th at the Tamarind Reef Resort on St. Croix. The purpose of the meeting is to facilitate interaction and idea sharing among Committee members, update members on current nonpoint source projects, and provide information on Committee activities to supervisory personnel, colleagues in other government agencies, and the general public. The meeting, sponsored by the University of Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS), will include a morning session featuring overviews of current NPS management projects funded through the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 319 grants, and new DPNR Coastal Zone Management Program initiatives. Projects that will be discussed include: an inventory of wetlands and riparian areas; revisions to V.I.'s Water Quality Standards; an analysis of toxic sediments at Lindberg Bay; the Youth NPS Education and Coral Reef Monitoring; Erosion and Sediment Control Education and Outreach; and Development of a Heavy Equipment Operator's Certification Program. The afternoon session will consist of site visits to several nonpoint source demonstration projects including a mangrove restoration project carried out jointly by VIMAS and the St. Croix Environmental Association, and a V.I. Department of Agriculture project consisting of a man-made pond system to control runoff from agriculture fields. For more information, contact Marcia Taylor, Chair of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Committee.

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Maine Developed a Nonpoint Source Training and Resource Center: Formed in 1997, the Maine Nonpoint Source Training and Resource Center (NPSTC) delivers technical information to professionals engaged in activities that may be significant sources of nonpoint pollution. The NPSTC holds workshops for many private and municipal audiences. General contractors, engineers, foresters, septic system installers, marina and boat yard owners, gulf course owners, road maintenance crews, private landowners, real estate appraisers, and municipal officials are among the groups the Center's programs target. NPSTC encourages these professionals to voluntarily adopt best management practices (BMPs) to prevent polluted runoff and assists them to comply with land use laws requiring BMP use. Last year, the Center had over 1,300 people participate in their training programs and conferences. The Center recently partnered with the Joint Environmental Training Coordination Committee (J.E.T.C.C.) to provide administrative support for the NPSTC. J.E.T.C.C. offers training programs for Maine's wastewater treatment plant operators and other groups

One noteworthy accomplishment of the NPSTC is developing a Voluntary Contractor Certification Program. The Contractor Certification Program, a non-regulatory, incentive-based program, educates contractors about sediment and erosion control BMPs and recognizes contractors that use environmentally sound practices. To become certified, contractors must complete two six hour education courses as well as one construction site evaluation. Contractors have to take at least one four hour continuing education course every two years to maintain their certification. The Department of Environmental Protection publishes a list of all certified contractors and runs an advertisement campaign encouraging people to use certified contractors. The Center has also negotiated with several companies to give certified contractors discounts on erosion and sediment control products. The mandatory 14 day waiting period for stream crossing projects is also waived for certified contractors. NPSTC has certified almost 350 contractors representing every county of the state. In addition, six construction companies have also received certification. In order for a company to be certified all of their site supervisors must be certified. The Center will begin a study next spring to assess the compliance rate for BMP installation and maintenance between sites overseen by certified and non-certified contractors.

The NPSTC is also working with the Department of Human Services Division of Health and Engineering (DEH) and the Maine Association of Site Evaluation (MASE) to develop a voluntary program to train and certify septic system inspectors. The septic system certification program will be launched during the Winter/Spring 2003 session. The Center already has a successful certification program for septic system installers with over 100 installers certified. Five hundred installers attended the training program last spring. For additional information, contact Bill LaFlamme, Nonpoint Training and Resource Center.

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Delaware Enhances its Sediment and Storm Water Program: Delaware's Sediment and Storm Water Program has been actively involved in the Conservation Design and Low Impact Development strategies for storm water management since 1996. In 1997, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), in conjunction with the Brandywine Conservancy's Environmental Management Center in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, developed a new Conservation Design for Storm Water Management Guidance Manual. The guidebook provided examples of Conservation Design techniques to decrease impervious surface cover and retain natural site features. The guidebook also characterized the hydrologic changes that occur during traditional land development practices and contrasted that with the minimal impacts that occur using Conservation Design methods. Case studies were presented to emphasize the difference between traditional and Conservation Design techniques.

With grant support from EPA's Non Point Source Program, DNREC recently expanded upon its original Conservation Design Manual by completing a design manual for Delaware's "Green Technology" BMPs, including bio-filtration, bio-retention, filter strips, and other source reduction strategies. As part of this project, Delaware has developed a new model approach for storm water analysis entitled "DURMM", the Delaware Urban Runoff Management Model. The "DURMM" model demonstrates design principals for Delaware's Green Technology Storm Water BMPs and estimates the loading rates and reductions achieved for many different storm water pollutants using Green Technology practices. The "DURMM" approach not only allows the site designer to use Conservation Design methods but also to develop a storm water strategy which employs more swales, bio-retention, and open space areas.

The "DURMM" model and "Green Technology" BMPs were introduced at several workshops during Delaware's recent "Sediment and Stormwater Conference 2002, The Race for Clean Water." The Conference drew 350 attendees from nineteen states on October 21-23. Conference proceedings will be available from DNREC by the end of the year. For additional information, contact Kim Cole, Delaware Coastal Programs.

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Alaska Creating Clean Water Actions: Alaska's Clean Water Actions (ACWA) is a unified approach among state resource agencies to prioritize actions for water quality, quantity, and aquatic habitat. In 2000, Governor Tony Knowles directed state agencies to work together to set priorities for Alaska's waters and aquatic habitat. As a result, the three state resource agencies: Departments of Fish and Game, Natural Resources, and Environmental Conservation, and the Division of Governmental Coordination; have formed an ACWA Workgroup to work closely in a coordinated effort towards better stewardship of Alaska's waters. Right now, efforts are focusing on developing Stewardship Report Cards, a Waterbody Decision Tree/Ranking Process, and a combined Request For Proposal (RFP) for ACWA pass through grant programs.

The ACWA Stewardship Report Cards will assess the effectiveness of the State's water and habitat stewardship programs. The report includes information on the primary services offered by the programs, interagency coordination, program accomplishments, and gaps recognized in each program. The reports help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Alaska's water resource programs and to direct funding towards priority areas.

A team of technical water resource agency staff have been working together to develop a waterway decision tree and ranking system to prioritize waterways for future projects. All waterways have been entered into the ACWA database and both the decision tree and ranking process have been adjusted after undergoing public review resulting in a credible process to prioritize ACWA waterbodies. A contractor is currently testing the draft process on 24 waterbodies and will make recommendations by the end of this month regarding any additional changes that may be needed to improve the process's efficiency.

Finally, the ACWA workgroup is developing a combined RFP for ACWA pass through grants to be used in a joint solicitation in Feb/March 2003. The RFP will ensure pass through funds are targeted towards ACWA priority areas and will reduce the administrative burden associated with managing multiple grant programs. The combined RFP will also reduce administrative burden on grantees, enabling them to complete one grant application for several grant programs.

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Virginia Strengthened Septic System Requirements: The Virginia Department of Health's (VDH) revised its Sewage, Handling and Disposal Regulation to address nonpoint source pollution from on-site disposal systems and to comply with the Section 6217 OSDS management measures. The revised law, which became effective on July 1, 2000, was an enormous improvement for the state because it established an 18 inch separation distance between the bottom of an OSDS drain field and the water table. Previously, the state only had a 2" separation distance previously. VDH now requires permit applicants to submit detailed plans of the septic system that will be constructed and detailed description of the proposed site's physical features. Depending on the physical features of the site, the state places specific restrictions on the type of septic system that can be installed at that location. To assist local homeowners in complying with the new law, Virginia is using Coastal Nonpoint Program implementation funds to initiate a pilot program with one of the Planning District Commissions (PDC) to provide technical assistance. A full-time engineer is based at the PDC and is responsible for (among other activities): raising awareness of the law among homeowners and working with them to come into compliance; assisting with permitting and engineering requirements as well as accessing local and state loans for septic system repair and replacement; and tracking the location of failed systems and the status of their repair/replacement.

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U.S. Virgin Islands Developed Rules for Using Alternate OSDS: Conventional on-site disposal systems (OSDS) are often inadequate in the Virgin Islands due to the Islands' shallow soils, steep slopes and increasing use of OSDSs. Therefore, to address this problem, the Virgin Islands developed rules and regulations for the use of Alternative Onsite Sewage Disposal Systems. The Governor of the Virgin Islands signed the rules into law on November 29, 2001. As stated in the December 2001/January 2002 issue of Virgin Inlands Nonpoint Source Update published by the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service, the rules are important because for the first time, provisions have been made to address concerns on how new innovative technologies developed in other areas can be certified for use in the Virgin Islands. The rules mandate that alternate OSDS are installed in areas where conventional OSDS are unsuitable or malfunction. The rules also require routine inspections for all systems, proof of proper system maintenance and operation, and a CZM permit for all building and plumbing permits prior to operating the system. For additional information contact: Bill Rohring, VI Department of Planning and National Resources, Division of Coastal Zone Management.

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