Exposed Soil = Pollution How You Can Save 100 Feet of Waterway/ Hour Ensuring Good Construction Site Erosion Control!

Transcription

1 Exposed Soil = Pollution How You Can Save 100 Feet of Waterway/ Hour Ensuring Good Construction Site Erosion Control! Community & Environmental Defense Services This presentation posted at: ceds.org/audit

2 No Need To Take Notes These documents posted at ceds.org/audit

3 How To Make All Sites As Good As This October 16, 2011 Initial Letter One of 150 Severn River watershed construction sites December 17, 2011 Thank You Letter

4 Severn River Sediment Sources Stormwater & Channel Erosion

5 Why Minimizing Construction Site Soil Erosion & Mud Pollution Is So Vitally Important

6 How Sediment New New Harms Aquatic Life Old Yellow Perch eggs Bridges that killed 100 million Yellow perch Yellow Perch larvae

7 Other Sediment Pollution Damages

8 Maryland First Statewide Erosion-Sediment Control Law Google: MDE sediment manual

9 Erosion-Sediment Control 1.0

10 Erosion-Sediment Swale & Silt Fence Control 1.0 Perimeter Sediment Trap Hydroseeding: Mulch & Grass Seed

11 Rough Grade Side (Profile) View Before Cut & Fill After Cut & Fill

12 Temporary Stabilization Mulch, Seeding & Stone on Roads within Days October 16, 2011 December 17, 2011

13 Let s make exposed construction site soil as socially unacceptable as junk cars on lawns and littering! Exposed Soil = Pollution Cooperation First/Public Image Second Positive letter to developer; Letter to Elected Officials asking them to contact developer (cc developer); then Press Event: In one week scouts will spread mulch on the site. One construction can damage three miles of downstream waters for 10- to 100-years; Each dollar spent keeping mud on the site saves $100 in damages avoided; and Each hour a volunteer spends winning good control through the Audit approach saves 100 feet of waterway.

14 Assessing Construction Site Erosion Control No Need To Walk Onto A Construction Site & Please Don t

15 View Site ONLY from Public Areas Commercial Site Rural Site

16 ceds.org/esp/espform.pdf What To Look For?

17 Estimating Site Size Acre = 200 x Suburban Site NFL = 160 x 360 = 1.3 acres 2007 Average Front Yard Width = 85 feet

18 Of the Originally Disturbed Area You Can See, What Percent Is Exposed Soil?

19 Of the Originally Disturbed Area You Can See, What Percent Is Exposed Soil?

20

21 Exposed Soil Percentage October 16, 2011 December 17, 2011

22 Mulch & Grass

23 Insufficient Mulch & Grass

24 Roads & Parking Lots

25 Has Earth-Moving Ceased? October 15, 2010 Is Heavy Equipment Still Present? Has equipment been idle for 14 days or more? November 24, 2010

26 Are building foundations present? Have they been backfilled? Has construction begun above the first floor?

27 Looking for Enforcement Triggers Conditions indicating discharge of significant amounts of sediment include, but are not limited to, the following: a) Earth slides or mud flows; b) Concentrated flows of stormwater such as rills, rivulets or channels that cause erosion when such flows are not filtered, settled or otherwise treated to remove sediment; c) Turbid flows of stormwater that are not filtered, settled or otherwise treated to reduce turbidity; d) Deposits of sediment at the construction site in areas that drain to unprotected stormwater inlets or catch basins that discharge directly to surface waters; e) Deposits of sediment from the construction site on public or private streets outside of the permitted construction activity; f) Deposits of sediment from the construction site on any adjacent property outside of the permitted construction activity; or g) Discharges from the construction site to municipal conveyances, curbs and gutters, or streams running through or along the site where visual observations show that the discharges differ from ambient conditions in terms of turbidity so as to indicate significant amounts of sediment present in them.

28 Looking for Enforcement Triggers Mud Slide Rills-Gullies Present But Drain to BMP Turbid Water Flow Construction Sediment Deposited Along Severn Tributary

29 What You ll Look for Today Percent of Visible Site Stabilized October 16, 2011 December 17, 2011

30 Reaping Survey Benefits Sites With Very Good Stabilization Jane Doe, President Main Street Development 123 Main Street Suite 240 Anytown, Maryland RE: Rolling Hills Estates Thank You Dear Ms. Doe: Last Saturday I and a number of other Severn River Association volunteers toured the watershed looking for construction sites with great erosion control. I am delighted to say that Rolling Hills Estates was among the best. We were delighted to see that much of the site had been protected with mulch and grass seeding. As you know, mulch and other temporary stabilization measures are two- to three-times more effective in preventing erosion and offsite sediment pollution when compared to just perimeter controls. In fact, the only way to fully protect sensitive aquatic resources, like the Severn, is to eliminate all exposed construction site soil with temporary stabilization measures. We believe Exposed Soil=Pollution should be the mantra at all construction sites and other watershed residents. In other words, the goal should be to protect every square foot of exposed soil as quickly as possible. Every dollar spent eliminating exposed soil saves tax-payers at least a hundred dollars in damages avoided. Again, thank you for providing such a great example of how our watershed residents can gain the benefits of growth without so many growing pains. Sincerely, Your Name & Signature

31 Reaping Survey Benefits Sites With Less Than Perfect Stabilization Jane Doe, President Main Street Development 123 Main Street Suite 240 Anytown, Maryland RE: Rolling Hills Estates Environmental Enhancement Opportunity Dear Ms. Doe: On behalf of the Severn River Association, I would like to welcome your latest project, Rolling Hills Estates, to our watershed. I would also like to point out an opportunity to further increase the compatibility of Rolling Hills Estates with the sensitive environmental features in this part of the Severn River watershed. At this point in time there is a rather large amount of exposed soil on the site. While runoff from these soils may flow to perimeter control measures, the amount of soil treated with temporary stabilization measures (mulch, grass seed, and stone for road beds) is relatively low. As you know, temporary stabilization is two- to three-times more effective in preventing erosion and offsite sediment pollution. Therefore we would deeply appreciate it if you would explore opportunities to quickly treat all remaining exposed soils with temporary stabilization measures. If you have any questions then please contact Richard Klein at or Rklein@ceds.org. Sincerely, Your Name & Signature

32 Cooperation First Steps Not Fixed Send Letter Problem Fixed Thank You Letter Phone Call Cooperative But Not Fixed Uncooperative Problem Fixed Thank You Letter Tour Contact Elected Official Refer To Enforcement Thank You or Refer To Enforcement

33 New Requirements Effective January 9 th Google: Maryland sediment control New Requirements: 20 acre exposure maximum; no current maximum; 7/14 day stabilization goes to 3/7 day; 95% vegetative cover; Steep slopes on highly- erodible soils preserved.