Draft Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay
The Federal Leadership Committee for the Chesapeake Bay released its Draft Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay on November 9, 2009 (concurrent with the Draft Strategy, an Executive Summary was released). Comments on the Draft Strategy are due by January 8, 2010 and the final strategy for protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay is to be completed and released by May 12, 2010.
The Draft Strategy isn't very different from the Draft 202(a) Report submitted by the EPA to the Federal Leadership Committee. Some of the recommendations that may be of particular interest to the building industry include:
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Development of an Economic Market for Ecosystem Services: Federal agencies will support the development of innovative technologies and economic markets as a way to provide landowners with an incentive to practice sustainable agriculture and forestry. Essentially, entities such as urban water utilities, industrial polluters, and land developers who must pay to mitigate negative impacts to the watershed will pay for the implementation of conservation practices that offset those impacts. USDA will lead a collaborative federal effort to develop ecosystem markets in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
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Promote Smart Growth and Sustainable Development: Because land use has a direct impact on the environment, federal agencies will promote sustainable development and smart growth through assistance and tools to local governments. DOT, EPA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will convene a series of forums and partner with local governments to conduct integrated transportation, land use, housing, and water infrastructure planning in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner. DOT will promote use of public transportation, bicycling, and walking, and partner with the Department of Energy (DOE) on a pilot project to support increased use of electric cars.
There are a couple of statements in the Draft Strategy that seem to directly address some of the concerns raised by the industry during listening sessions with the EPA. For example, page 23 of the Draft Strategy addresses the cost implications for more stringent stormwater management practices for new construction but ultimately concludes that change is more valuable:
Demonstrating the value of changing our behaviors is a difficult task. Often, such changes are viewed as a threat to people’s lifestyle or economic well-being. Reducing stormwater runoff, for example, may require the installation of new technologies in both residential and commercial developments. Requirements to use new roofing technologies or porous pavement have the potential to raise the price of such development. Partnering with states and communities to lead change in community planning and individual choices is important to bring all stakeholders and residents into the effort to achieve and sustain a healthy system.”
Here are a few statistics cited in the Draft Strategy that builders and developers may find interesting:
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Between 1990 and 2000, the amount of land in the watershed covered by impervious surfaces increased by about 41 percent, while population in the Bay watershed grew by 8 percent. Stormwater running off urban and suburban lands is now the fastest-growing source of pollution in the Bay. (Draft Strategy p.19)
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Construction sites can contribute, on a per-acre basis, 10 to 20 times more sediment than do agricultural lands. (Draft Strategy p. 22)
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A one-acre parking lot produces about 16 times the volume of runoff that comes from a one-acre meadow.” (Draft Strategy p.31)
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Development has increasingly altered both natural and cultural landscapes, tearing at the very fabric that defines the region and supports our way of life….Moreover, converting forests and open spaces to development simply exacerbates pollution problems now harming the Bay and its rivers. On average, an acre of forest delivers just 3.3 lbs of nitrogen to streams annually; an acre of developed land delivers 32.9 lbs of nitrogen annually. (Draft Strategy p. 33)
If you have any statistics, data, or general comments that you'd like to make to the FLC and the EPA as they go forward in developing a more concrete strategy, it's important to submit them by January 8, 2010 to be considered. Comments can be provided via this link.
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and other unchanneled stormwater runoff) sources of pollutants. Because the EPA’s ability to influence nonpoint sources has been limited in the past, under the Bay TMDL, the EPA is working with local jurisdictions to develop “innovative approaches” to achieving nonpoint source reductions of nutrients and sediment.
