National Research Council Calls for Overhaul in Stormwater Regulation

By Jessica Boehland

The Clean Water Act is failing to control stormwater pollution, concludes a new report from the National Research Council, part of the National Academies. “The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation’s rivers, lakes, and estuaries,” according to the Council’s Committee on Reducing Stormwater Discharge Contributions to Water Pollution. “These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system,” says the report.

Photo © Timothy Hursley

The Heifer International Headquarters, located in Little Rock, Arkansas, reduces the volume of stormwater leaving the site through the use of permeable paving, planted bioswales, and a constructed wetland as well as the capture and reuse of rainwater.

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Titled “Urban Stormwater Management in the United States,” the report is the result of a study performed at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and it makes several far-reaching regulatory recommendations. First, it suggests that “all stormwater and other wastewater discharge permits should be based on watershed boundaries instead of political boundaries,” in effect placing the responsibility for discharges at the municipal level. The report also suggests that the federal government step up its funding of state and municipal regulatory programs. It further recommends implementing a permit trading program for each watershed similar to the successful program designed to limit emissions of pollutants that contribute to acid rain; such a program could allow water-quality goals to be met in a more cost-effective manner.

The report also explores opportunities for reducing stormwater pollution even in the absence of broad regulatory changes. These measures, many of which fall under the purview of green building, can reduce the volume of stormwater runoff as well as the concentration of pollutants in that runoff. Examples include the preservation of forested areas and wetlands, the use of pervious paving, the use of planted swales instead of curbs and gutters, and the capture and reuse of rainwater.

More information, including the National Research Council’s full report, is online at www.nas.edu.

This article was produced by BuildingGreen, LLC.- www.buildinggreen.com

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