New stormwater permit may help on sanctions

photo Staff File Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press Chattanooga public works employees work to improve stormwater drainage on Winding Lane near Hixson.

Chattanooga's new stormwater permit requiring new development or redevelopments to hold the first inch of rainfall out of the storm drains went into effect this week -- just as the rain clouds gave way to clear sky.

Mayor Ron Littlefield hopes that having the new state permit will help the city in negotiations to avoid sanctions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice.

"I'm glad that we have completed action on our permit," Littlefield said. "We're very comfortable with the high standards that it sets, as long as we're not a lone ranger with it."

The new permit heralds a new way of handling the massive amounts of water that run off the city's miles of pavement and parking lots. The city must implement all aspects of the permit within four years.

Chattanooga's average yearly 54 inches of rainfall run from streets, parking lots and traditional rooftops into storm drains or ditches. In the central city business district, those drains and ditches usually lead to combined sewer lines. From those, the water ends up at Moccasin Bend Sewage Treatment Plant, where it often has caused chemical treatment imbalances or sewage-tainted overflows.

Amazon.com impact?Enterprise South, where Amazon.com is negotiating to build a new facility, already has its own innovative plan to reduce stormwater.As the site for the Volkswagen plant was being readied, state officials allowed workers to move more than three miles of Poe Branch. The stipulation for that approval was construction of wetlands and a design that would make the relocated stream an eco-friendly stormwater runoff retention area to serve the entire industrial park."It is designed to flood," said Richard Urban, head of the Water Pollution Control division of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Chattanooga field office. "And the first concept was that it would be a way to create an incentive for businesses to come to Enterprise South."Amazon.com still must apply for stormwater permits, and Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said he's sure the company will look for innovative ways to handle stormwater on its own as a way of reducing its stormwater fee."Amazon is West Coast," the mayor said. "I don't think they'll find any regulations we deal with here different from other locations."Amazon.com officials did not return calls for comment.STORMWATER CHANGES* Chattanooga's new water quality permit calls for new development and redevelopment within four years to retain at least the first inch of stormwater runoff from every 72-hour rain event. Officials say that means the permit will apply to about 80 percent of Chattanooga rains.* Innovations such as rainbarrels, rain gardens, gutter gardens, porous pavement parking areas and green roofs may be used to obtain compliance.* Businesses, agencies and customers using some of these innovations may receive up to 75 percent credit on annual stormwater fees.Source: Chattanooga, Tennessee Department of Environment and ConservationOVERFLOW HISTORYMore than 510 million gallons of untreated sewage have spilled into the Tennessee River and nearby streams and streets from Moccasin Bend Treatment Plant's combined sewer overflow facilities in the past five years.Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation records

EPA and the Department of Justice have been watching Chattanooga's sewer and stormwater operations, as well as the negotiations for the new permit. In 2009 Chattanooga violated its existing permit 17 times; this year has seen two major sewage-contaminated overflows to the Tennessee River.

Just over a year ago, the city tripled stormwater fees for homeowners and raised sewer fees for all water users, adding another $7.32 in monthly fees for the typical household.

Stormwater and sewer fees also rose by thousands of dollars for some businesses, churches and schools, and city officials began offering credits for innovative runoff reduction methods.

Littlefield said he's certain EPA and DOJ will fine the city for overflow violations. He hopes the amount won't be too high and that nothing worse happens, such as a performance order and/or a development moratorium.

Littlefield said state and federal officials also have assured him that Chattanooga's new stormwater permit won't make the city "the lone ranger," with tougher standards than those of surrounding municipalities and states.

Saya Qualls, chief engineer for TDEC's Division of Water Pollution Control, said stormwater runoff rules soon will be similar for all municipal jurisdictions.

"Chattanooga's permit will not be any more stringent than Nashville or Knoxville or Memphis," she said.

New requirements

Chattanooga will have up to two years to write and four years to implement standards and policies to meet the 1-inch requirement.

State regulators, who wrote the permit with EPA oversight, say they hope city officials choose to move more quickly, and nothing in the permit prohibits offering green infrastructure credits sooner.

Mounir Minkara, Chattanooga's water quality manager, said the city already is offering new and existing businesses up to 75 percent credits on their annual stormwater fee assessments for porous pavement parking areas, rain gardens, green roofs and other innovations to slow or reuse runoff.

About 100 businesses already have some method of retention or reuse and are receiving fee credits now. Another two dozen have applications for fee credits based on new or proposed systems, Minkara said. Firms get a 25 percent credit just for submitting a proposal for better handling their stormwater.

The new permit eventually will affect homeowners, as well, Minkara said.

"It will reduce flooding in neighborhoods," he said. "But it has to be implemented on a whole watershed area. You will not see the benefits right away. It will take time."

Continue reading by following these links to related stories:

Article: City OKs stormwater projects

Article: Mayor responds to stormwater permit

Article: City Council keeps eye on stormwater plan budget

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