What's New
Environment Maryland is working to pass the Stormwater Management Act
of 2007, SB 784/HB 786, which would set higher standards for runoff
from new developments. The bill will require developers to plan for
sediment from construction sites and pollution from the development in
a comprehensive way, to maintain the pre-development runoff from a
site, and to use low impact design techniques to trap and filter water
before it reaches our rivers and the bay. The bill will be heard in the
House Environmental Matters committee on March 7th.
How You Can Help
E-mail your Senator and Delegates to urge them to co-sponsor
legislation that would clean up runoff from new developments.
Brief Summary
Stormwater
runoff has a significant impact on water quality in the Chesapeake
and Coastal Bays and their source waters. According to the Chesapeake
Bay Program,
urban stormwater runoff in the watershed is responsible for about 16
percent of the
phosphorus, 11 percent of the nitrogen, and nine percent of the
sediment polluting the bay. This nutrient pollution feeds algal blooms
which create the dead zone that afflicts the bay. The dead zone covered
41 percent of the bay last
summer, making the water uninhabitable for plant and animal life in
that area.
Stormwater
runoff also pollutes the bay with toxic chemicals. Bay-wide, more pollutants such as metals and
oil come from stormwater runoff than from industries, federal facilities and
wastewater treatment plants combined. The loss of natural filters further compounds the problems caused by
runoff. Development and construction
alter the natural hydrology of an area, causing flooding, streambank erosion
and habitat degradation throughout the watershed.
Preventing
pollution is far simpler and cheaper than addressing this problem once it has
begun. According to Maryland’s Tributary Strategy, cleaning up
our existing stormwater runoff problems will cost the state over $5
billion. Establishing increased
inspections and stricter standards for stormwater runoff from construction and
development sites can prevent these problems before they happen.
To solve the problems with stormwater runoff, developers and
builders must rethink traditional approaches to development and the
environmental problems it can cause. Stormwater management principles should
focus on preventing, minimizing, and mitigating runoff by using low impact
design techniques. Low impact design includes reduction of
impervious cover, maintenance of natural vegetation, and minimizing land distrubance.
Low impact design techniques can significantly reduce and even prevent the
negative effects of development on stormwater runoff.
If
development in Maryland continues at its
current rate, stormwater runoff may become the most significant threat facing
the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It is imperative that the state set strict
standards for runoff from new development.
