Applying Stormwater Rules to Existing Facilities: Let It Rain
U.S. EPA Region 1 (Iowa is in Region 7) has recently issued two rulings relating to stormwater discharge permitting that could have a huge impact on existing businesses. In these two instances, EPA has decided, for the first time, to regulate stormwater runoff from impervious cover (such as parking lots and large buildings) from existing developments, regardless of how long they have been in existence.
In the first instance, EPA analyzed the Charles River Watershed in Massachusetts and determined that the impairment of the river was being caused by existing impervious cover from sites having two acres or more of impervious cover. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will be issuing stormwater permits to existing, previously unregulated businesses.
In the second instance, EPA determined that the Long Creek Watershed in Portland, Maine had a similar problem. Therefore, the Maine DEP will be issuing stormwater permits to any business which meets a one acre impervious cover limitation.
The states are currently promulgating the final rules that will determine exactly what will be required by their respective permits. Presumably, the permits will mandate that those properties which affect the watershed and are above the threshold impervious area limit will be required to, in some manner, treat the runoff from those areas prior to discharge into the impaired water.
Given the number of impaired waters in Iowa and across the country, the implications of these decisions is staggering. Until these rulings, stormwater permitting had applied only to a limited number of industrial facilities, new construction sites and MS4 cities. Should this rule be applied in Iowa, it will mean that fairgrounds, race tracks,commercial sites and retail facilities, to name a few, could be required to find a way to capture and treat the stormwater runoff coming from their facility, even if they have been in existence for 10, 20 or 50 years.
One lesson here is don’t buy asphalt futures – dirt parking lots will be making a comeback!
