Urban Community & Conservation Focus Area Committee Meeting
March 4, 2007
Butch Rider: Chairperson
Present:
Butch Rider
Shannon Allen
Don Beisiegel
Steve Black
Chris Davis
Jim Nelson
Jim Singer
Phyllis Mace
Butch Rider called the meeting to order and took roll call.
Steve Black made a motion to approve the minutes with the following changes: Some places are running out of water. Should read (Some places are running out of quality water.) Mr. Proctor’s first name was spelled wrong (Dewayne) should of be Dwayne. Don Beisiegel seconds the motion.
Motion was made by Don Beisiegel second by
Steve Black to except the new agenda.
Old Business:
Illinois Urban Manual Update:
Jim Nelson stated that he met with EPA and NRCS. IEPA is did not require NRCS State Engineer approval for updates of standards. Jim stated that their might be a 319 grant through EPA.
White Paper:
Jim passed out the White Paper, for the Urban Committee to read. A few suggestions were made. Steve Black made a motion to present the White Paper to the board with the suggested changes to be made, second by Don Beisiegel. Changes have been made to the following report.
Water Quality Suffers in Illinois’ Urban Areas
The focus of this paper is to highlight the need to reduce non point source pollution in Illinois’ urbanizing areas. The paper depicts how stormwater runoff that reaches Illinois’ streams, rivers, and lakes impairs our waters and how federal, state, and local units of government address soil loss on construction sites. Finally, possible solutions to current problems are discussed and key players in accomplishing the goals identified.
PROBLEM
Urban areas contribute a disproportionately higher amount of sediment and pollutants per acre, than other land uses. Soil erosion from a construction site without proper soil erosion and sediment control practices in place can average between 20-200 tons/acre/year. This is 10 to 20 times greater than the typical soil losses on agricultural lands. Sediment, i.e. dislodged soil particles, contributes to the degradation of Illinois’ waters through physically filling lakes and streams, reduced water clarity, and causing algal blooms due to the excess nutrients associated with it. USEPA’s Nationwide Urban Runoff Program found that the total suspended solids (TSS) are major pollutants in our waters. As snowmelt and rainwater move across exposed construction sites many contaminants such as heavy metals, soluble nutrients, and organic pollutants become suspended in the water and carried into local stormdrains then to waterbodies. Some evidence of this process is the erosion rills and deep gullies that form on sites.
To address the problem of construction site runoff, all developments that disturb one acre or more now require a National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System permit (NPDES) from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. A Notice of Intent (NOI) must be sent to IEPA and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is required prior to construction. Currently, only a fraction of the NOI fee, $500 annually per permit, goes back into the program that oversees the NPDES permits at IEPA.
Sites out of compliance with their permits result in unacceptable amounts of eroded soil and contaminants leaving construction sites. Some violations may occur due to a lack of soil erosion and sediment control knowledge on the part of developers and contractors. In other cases a “favorite” practice is used in all situations. This is often inadequate since a combination of practices is often necessary to achieve sediment and erosion control. Even if the properly chosen practices are utilized, they are often installed, and/or maintained improperly due to lack of knowledge of the soil erosion/sediment control product or lack of oversight. Therefore there is a strong need for qualified personnel to conduct construction site inspections to ensure compliance and educate contractors and developers about proper soil erosion/sediment control maintenance and repair/replace practices.
Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts
In Illinois there are 98 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) representing all 102 counties of the state. The Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act gives authority to Illinois’ SWCDs to work on all lands within district boundaries. This means that each district’s responsibility extends beyond that of just agricultural lands.
The Illinois SWCDs address soil and water issues by providing assistance in:
· Consultation with and education of State and Federal regulatory programs such as:
Ø IEPA’s NPDES Phase II
Ø USACE’s 404
· Natural Resource Inventories (identify impacts of development on natural resources)
· Environmental education/information campaigns regarding:
Ø Erosion and Sediment Control measures
Ø Responsible turf and landscape fertilizer and pesticide application
Ø Natural resources protection ordinances (e.g., stormwater, erosion and sediment control)
Ø Soil and Water Conservation for youth (i.e., Envirothon)
Ø Stormwater management (flooding, detention, water quality, infiltration)
Ø Construction site stormwater plan and implementation inspections
To that end, some SWCDs located in urbanizing areas of Illinois have entered into a pilot program with the IEPA and an Interagency Coordination Agreement (ICA) with the Chicago District of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to inspect permitted construction sites and offer education/information on how to comply with those permits. The SWCD staff is qualified to perform these inspections as they have achieved or are pursuing full certification for the Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC). Currently only fifteen out of 98 SWCDs are included in the EPA pilot program and five have ICA contracts with the Army Corps. The relationships formed by these innovative programs have resulted in more education for and compliance by developers, contractors, engineers, municipal inspectors and local planners. Developers in these areas are becoming aware that the inspectors are there to offer technical assistance to prevent costly fines and delays as well as to protect our natural resources. These projects showcase the importance of SWCDs in solving the soil erosion problem instead of simply punishing the violators. The goal is not to stop development but to assure that it is done responsibly.
In addition to inspections, SWCDs have hosted field days and workshops to educate and inform construction contractors, consultants, and developers on erosion and sediment control issues. Workshops often have large turnouts emphasizing the desire for more education in this field.
Solution
To more effectively address the problem of non point source pollution entering Illinois’ waters, better utilization of Illinois SWCDs is required. According to the USACE and IEPA, there are not enough employees at their agencies to inspect construction sites for compliance. Therefore several Soil and Water Conservation Districts have been asked to use their expertise in the soil erosion and water quality field to perform this important service. The financial support currently available for this program is temporary and does not fund all 98 SWCDs.
It would be a great benefit to the citizens of Illinois if all SWCDs received funding in order to implement this program statewide. The Illinois SWCDs have been given a mandate to address soil and water conservation issues throughout the state whether they be urban or agricultural related. An often under used and under recognized resource, Illinois SWCDs possess more employees with Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) accreditation than the other fifty state’s SWCDs. Therefore, we the members of the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD) request that:
· Increase Illinois Department of Agriculture budget for SWCD operations to 13.5 million dollars annually
· Allocate one hundred percent of Notice of Intent fees that are currently submitted to the IEPA for NPDES phase II general construction permits to an IEPA account dedicated to the construction site inspection program.
New Business
Water Resources and resolution and Lt. Governors grant request.
The committee was given a resolution from LUC 16.
Don Beisiegel made a motion to accept the resolution, second by Steve Black.
Water Resource and Use Resolution
WHEREAS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts promote the need for comprehensive water use planning and water conservation;
WHEREAS, the availability of viable water supplies, be that they are groundwater or surface water supplies, are dwindling and have uncertain futures;
WHEREAS, the protection of groundwater and surface water supplies are critical to economic and environmental integrity of Illinois;
WHEREAS, ethanol production, industrial manufacturing, population growth, and irrigation all incur large quantities of water in their given process and could put stress on available local water supplies;
WHEREAS, the protection of Lake Michigan water is essential to environmental quality of the Great Lakes Ecosystem and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact should be supported for passage in the Illinois State Legislature;
WHEREAS, the promotion of water conservation methods to minimize consumptive water use are critical for the protection of existing water resources;
WHEREAS, wastewater treatment facilities for community and private use should ensure the quality of water returning to the water supply;
WHEREAS, a target of zero net loss of water per watershed and a recommendation of a standard of 15% allowable loss for consumption should be attained;
WHEREAS, commitment of Districts as an umbrella group of public information regarding issues pertaining to water use and the methods to conserve water and their associated resources;
THEREFORE, be it resolved that the AISWCD actively pursue an education effort directed to public, commercial, and private landowners of Illinois regarding water conservation efforts.
Approved by the Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District February 15, 2007
Approved by Land Use Council 16 February 27, 2007
Unfinished commitment to the Green Book:
Jim stated that he would like to see the green book put to a CD. It is still an important tool. Chris Davis stated that she has a copy of the little Brown book that is already on CD titled “You and Your Home”. This will be looked into on how to get the book to a CD. Possible funding may come from the next IEPA/AISWCD Protecting Water Quality Mini-Grants.
Potential Annual Meeting sessions:
It was suggested that maybe we should have a session on urban issues at Summer Conference. Possible session could be: Education, Watershed issues, Runoff problems and session on how to learn about the quality of water.
The following are the Urban Committee’s ideas for Summer Conference sessions. If we have to choose one over the other I would guess they would like the Prot. Water Quail over the other.
SWCD Interagency Cooperation Agreements
Tuesday Morning
1 – 1.5 hours
Protecting Water Quality in Urban Centers (2nd round)
Tuesday Morning
1-1.5 hours
Five Minute Board Presentation:
Shannon Allen will be giving a five minute power point presentation to the board. The power point will show how the NPDES Educational Inspection Program will benefit all 98 districts.
Transect surveys-add an urban portion:
Discussed the possibility of adding urban to the transect survey. This is probably not feasible.
Discussed the possibility of adding urban practices to the IDOA CPP docket of practices. IDOA is opening the CPP for new practices in order to give all districts the opportunity to spend their CPP funds. The concern is that some urban SWCDs cannot spend since there is so little land in agriculture there.
It is the consensus of the committee that a task force needs to be formed to look into this matter. Maybe a survey needs to be sent to the districts asking if this will increase there work load. We also need to know if it will give the wrong impression throughout the state that the AISWCD wants CPP to move away from ag. This would be a tool to help gage the urban problems. Send survey out to Land Use Councils.
Possibility of an award for urban conservation similar to Farm Family Award:
It was suggested by Jim Todd that we have a farm family for urban award at Summer Conference. It was discussed with the group and each thought it would be a great idea. Criteria by which we would judge the Districts would have to be developed and sent to the board. A sponsor would also need to be sought to help pay for the award. Steve Black stated that he would work on a committee to help develop guide lines. Steve Black suggested that we set up a task force to develop guide lines, second by, Don Beisiegel.
It was suggested that the committee needs to start working on grants to help support the position of Jim Nelson.
Chris Davis asked if there was any topics that they would like to see at the Farm Show.
Land Use Council 12 presented a resolution on Farmland and Open Space Protection to the committee. The committee discussed the resolution and will be sending it on to the board, motion to forward and approve was made by Don Beisiegel and second by Steve Black.