Ann F. Jennings and William H. Street: Stormwater Regs Will Help Save the Bay

Cleanup of Virginia's rivers and the Chesapeake Bay is being overwhelmed by stormwater pollution -- the water that runs off rooftops, lawns, parking lots, and streets into state waterways whenever it rains.

Stormwater runoff often contains dirt, bacteria, fertilizers, and chemicals and is a major reason why more than 9,000 miles of state rivers and streams and the Bay are so polluted they are deemed not "fishable and swimmable" by Virginia and the federal EPA.

The commonwealth is taking decisive action to address this problem by proposing new stormwater regulations that will help ensure future development has "no-net impact" on Virginia's water quality. These statewide rules represent an innovative and equitable means for Virginia to better accommodate future buildings and roads while protecting our waterways.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, James River Association, and more than 50 other Virginia conservation groups strongly support the new regulations and urge their adoption and speedy implementation. Restoring our rivers and the Bay depends on it. Here's why.

New stormwater regulations are critical to Virginia clean water efforts.

Scientists tell us that progress reducing pollution from other sources (such as sewage-treatment plants and agriculture) is now being offset by increased runoff pollution from new development. Virginia has invested more than a billion dollars and advanced new regulations to support upgrading sewage-treatment plants around the state, helping farms reduce polluted runoff, and better managing poultry manure used as fertilizer. Water pollution is caused by everyone, and solutions must include everyone, including future development.

Stormwater pollution has increased dramatically over the years as more and more of Virginia's natural landscape has been developed. Existing stormwater requirements were approved 20 years ago. Outdated regulations and the sheer pace of development -- land is being developed five times faster than population growth -- have allowed runoff pollution to worsen. The new regulations integrate the most up-to-date and innovative science, technology, and policy to deal with today's bourgeoning stormwater runoff problem.

Flexibility and tools are available to ensure cost-effective stormwater management.

Independent expert evaluations have shown that the new requirements are attainable across a broad range of types of developments. New practices, more efficient designs, and options to achieve needed pollution reductions off-site provide an array of tools for developers to comply -- without a significant increase in costs on most sites. These tools as well as existing state and federal programs and incentives are available to support urban revitalization, affordable housing, and other projects that improve both urban communities and water quality.

The regulations are important to achieve the complementary goals of environmental and economic health for Virginia.

This is a classic case of pay now, or pay much more later. Runoff pollution is far less expensive to manage in the planning and construction process, rather than after the buildings and roads are completed. Past failures to better control stormwater runoff already cause economic pain across Virginia, threatening the state's seafood and recreation-tourism industries and increasing the public costs for flood control, infrastructure protection, and clean drinking water. These regulations will help keep such problems from getting worse.

Some claim that these regulations will stifle future development and cripple Virginia's economy. Similar arguments were made against the phosphate detergent ban and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act in the 1980s and more stringent Stafford County stormwater regulations in 2001; all proved unfounded. Throughout, Virginia has continued to be rated among the best states in the nation for business. These claims do not fully consider the tools and flexibility that are available through the regulations.

The regulations have gone through an extensive public process and need to move forward to achieve Virginia's clean water obligations.

The stormwater regulations were more than three years in the making and represent perhaps the most open and publicly vetted environmental regulatory action in Virginia's history. The Department of Conservation and Recreation employed an unprecedented level of stakeholder outreach and involvement -- more than 50 technical advisory committee and public meetings, during which nearly 400 stormwater practitioners were able to evaluate the regulations. After they are finalized, the regulations still will not go into effect for another two years. We should not delay clean water further. Fundamentally, the regulations set the requirements to issue state permits to discharge pollution into our shared waters, which Virginia's constitution mandates must be clean. The proposed regulations represent an important step toward keeping that public trust in a manner that is fair and equitable.
Ann F. Jennings is Virginia executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; she can be reached at . William H. Street is executive director of the James River Association. He can be reached at .