September 2024, Volume 19, Issue 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
President's Corner
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the protection of our most important natural resource: water.
Next week is SESWA’s 19th Annual Regional Stormwater Conference in Chattanooga, TN. If you are like so many professionals I know, trying to balance work and life, the Annual Conference gives us a chance to take a breath and learn from each other. These times to gather and network continue to show why SESWA’s Mission statement is so accurate “To assist stormwater professionals in the Southeast as they seek solutions to surface water quality and stormwater management challenges.”
The agenda is full of amazing topics and activities. Wednesday includes three options including a tour of local stormwater projects in Chattanooga, a workshop on Natural Solutions in Stormwater, and SESWA’s 3rd Annual SESWA Volunteer Service Project. I personally always enjoy the service projects. They not only give me a chance to give back to the local host community, but I also get the chance to meet SESWA members I haven’t met yet.
On Thursday, Anna George, PhD, VP of Conservation Science and Education at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute will kick-off the conference and for the next 2 ½ days of multiple presentations that will cover a wide range of topics. One of the main reasons I appreciate SESWA’s Annual Conference is the coconscious effort to have presentations for all arms of the stormwater community (engineers, environmental scientists, educational coordinators, watershed managers, etc.) Some session examples include mitigation programs, mapping programs, and overcoming funding challenges.
But wait – there’s more! The exhibit hall will be full of knowledgeable resources that can help you on your next project or give you some advice on a difficult situation. There will be companies who specialize in hard engineering solutions and BMPs, along with others that can help you with native plants that you should install. Collectively we are all part of stormwater solutions and want to protect our water.
I look forward to networking with longtime colleagues and meeting new ones, attending some amazing presentations, and learning from our exhibitors. Please travel safely and I will see you soon.
Demetria Kimball-Mehlhorn
SESWA President
Lexington Fayette Urban County
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SESWA’s Annual Conference
SESWA’s 19th Annual Regional Conference is sold out and we’re expecting a full house with over 280 participants! In addition to two days of stormwater-focused education, the conference will feature a number of exciting opportunities for participants to get engaged.
 Stormwater Projects Tour - The City of Chattanooga's Stormwater Management division is leading an informative bus tour highlighting various stormwater and water quality efforts. The pre-conference tour offers a unique opportunity to learn about the City's initiatives firsthand while exploring Chattanooga's beautiful landscapes. Don't miss this chance to gain insight into how stormwater is managed and the importance of water quality in our communities.
- Pre-Conference Workshop - Wetland and Natural Solutions for Stormwater Management - The workshop will highlight key stormwater projects that utilize wetlands and natural systems to address stormwater pollution and assist with watershed restoration. The three discussions will review the challenges that local governments face when embarking on a similar journey including policy decisions, funding options, and planning considerations. The workshop will provide a valuable forum to learn and inquire about efforts in our region.
- Service Project - The City of Chattanooga and North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy, in collaboration with the Southeast Stormwater Association, will host a cleanup project along North Chickamauga Creek. Located just 20 minutes north of downtown Chattanooga, this beautiful stretch of river recently received the designation of State Scenic River. Despite its protected status, certain areas are impacted by litter and debris, making this project a crucial conservation effort.
- Networking and Innovative Stormwater Products and Services - All attendees are invited to network and explore the latest technologies in the Exhibit Hall. The Exhibit Hall will be open all day on Thursday so be sure to visit the Exhibit Hall during the breaks and Welcome Reception. SESWA would like to thank this year’s exhibitors and sponsors for their continued support of SESWA and the stormwater community.
We look forward to seeing this year’s attendees in Chattanooga and we appreciate the support of this year's exhibitors and sponsors. We’ll see you in Tennessee soon!
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SESWA Elections and Board of Directors Nominations
We’re looking for dynamic leaders committed to guiding the continued success of the Association! Elections will be held in October to fill vacancies on the SESWA Board of Directors. This is a chance to help lead the association dedicated to furthering the stormwater management profession and water quality improvement programs in the Southeast. Your organization must be a member of SESWA to serve in a leadership position. Please submit your nomination form by September 30, 2024 to have your information included on the Board Elections page. Visit the Elections page to view current nominations. After September 30th, nominations must occur at the Annual Meeting. Click here to complete a Board of Directors Nomination form and get started!
Mark your calendars to attend the Southeast Stormwater Association’s Annual Membership Meeting this October held in conjunction with the Annual Conference in Chattanooga, TN. Join us on Thursday, October 10, 2024 from 4:35 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. Eastern to elect SESWA’s 2024-25 Board of Directors and Officers. Only members can vote but everyone is welcome to attend! For all the details view the SESWA Elections memo that was sent to all SESWA members earlier this month.
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Be A Part of Something Great – Join a 2024-25 SESWA Committee!
SESWA members are encouraged to serve on one of the Association's four programmatic committees: Communications, Conference & Education, Membership, or Stormwater Policy. Volunteering to serve on a committee is a great way to become more involved in SESWA. Sign up to join a committee today to have a say in your Association's programs and to network with other stormwater professionals throughout the Southeast. Committee re-appointments are not automatic! Whether you wish to return to a committee or be appointed for the first time, you must complete a Committee Request Form. The incoming President will be making appointments by early November.
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SESWA Community Forum – Join the Conversation
SESWA is committed to being a trusted resource and maintaining open channels of communication. As a member of SESWA you have access to an online Community Forum to post questions, share information, and discuss emerging issues with your peers throughout the Southeast! Visit the Forum today, use your member login, and click on discussion threads that interest you. Don’t forget to “subscribe” to the topics that interest YOU to follow the conversations!
Here's the latest from the Forum:
Focus Groups for Outreach
Julie Berbiglia, Davidson County/City of Nashville, TN
Has anyone used focus groups to help assess or focus their Public Outreach program? What topics did you address? Who ran the focus groups? What were the results? And how did you act on the results? Read more…
Cool Things Happening in Stormwater
Ariel Bushel, City of Raleigh, NC
I wanted to start an on-going thread where we can post interesting things we've seen or done recently. Maybe include the location of where it is, so if we are ever in the area, we can visit! Read more...
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Potential Hurdles to Environmental Justice
Kevin Coyne, SESWA
When planning and developing stormwater projects, entities may incorporate social aspects to better determine impacts (both positive and negative) to the surrounding community. These social aspects, many of which can be categorized as a type of environmental justice (EJ) approach, can help projects from both environmental and social benefits. Environmental justice laws are broadly defined in Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act, and have provisions that both federal, state, and local governments must follow when implementing projects. In some areas, the use of EJ practices has faced criticism, some saying it adds additional administrative costs or hampers development of projects in certain areas. In Louisiana, a decision by a Circuit Court judge sided with the state saying they did not want to follow federal laws that limited disparate impacts on disadvantaged communities. The state of Louisiana considered the federal laws an overreach and took away from state authority. After the Louisiana ruling, a coalition of Republican led states requested the federal government vacate the use of Title VI rules nationwide, an action that could have significant impacts nationwide on the use of EJ in many aspects of environmental decision making. To counter that request, a group of EJ advocates are strongly urging the federal government to uphold the Title VI laws. The USEPA has not made any final decisions on this matter, but all should be aware that this could impact many stormwater management projects.
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Superfund Sites Reviewed for Impacts from Sea Level Rise
Kevin Coyne, SESWA
The need to complete resiliency planning, to address impacts from an ever-changing environment, is a task being initiated by all levels of government, including federal agencies. The USEPA will soon be reviewing super fund locations to evaluate the impacts that sea level rise may have on the sites. Outlined in an August memo, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) noted that they would be reviewing federal superfund facilities for impacts related to climate change scenarios. The program will be reviewing federal locations to ensure both the area and remediation activities are adequate to changes associated with climate change, including sea level rise. While this is an action being completed by the federal government on federal facilities, local governments should take note the approach being taken, and how this type of effort could soon fall to local level remediation sites that may require similar review actions.
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Choosing Swag to Support Behavior Change
Julie Berbiglia and Gretchen Judkins, Davidson County/City of Nashville, TN
Our ongoing evaluation of public education for NPDES in Nashville, TN sent us down the swag rabbit hole. We decided our determining factor for swag spending, and responsible use of our Stormwater Fee budget, is items that directly support behavior change by removing barriers. We also require a conversation or participation in a poll before giving out a swag item, eliminating the “stop and grab” non-interactions at booths.
Here is our current swag list: dog waste bag dispensers for poop scooping, native plant seeds for TN Smart Yards landscaping, and rain gauges for runoff avoidance through wise watering practices. We also eliminated some categories of swag as counter-productive to our mission: stickers and temporary tattoos (one-time use, become litter), and omnipresent items (reusable bags).
Instead of full-size brochures, we promote the TN Smart Yards landscaping program with smaller, rack card style fliers. We engage booth visitors with a Smart Yards action list they fill out at the booth and take home to complete as part of the certification process. Staff then follow-up with an email reminder and additional resource links.
Identifying and removing barriers are elements of successful social marketing campaigns. See "Getting Your Feet Wet with Social Marketing: A Social Marketing Guide for Watershed Programs" to learn more.
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Beating the Heat with Green Infrastructure
Stephanie MacDurmon, Tetra Tech
The summer of 2024 again brought record-breaking heat to the Southeast region. As extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe and gains increased attention from the public and policymakers, communities are mapping high heat areas (e.g., Atlanta and Charlotte) and developing Heat Action Plans to mitigate impacts, often with consideration for disadvantaged populations (e.g., Miami-Dade County). These plans generally include policy and programmatic strategies, like cooling centers and expanded community resources, as well as changes to the built environment. The latter represents an opportunity to advocate for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) as a mitigation strategy for urban heat. GSI reduces air temperatures through evaporative cooling or shading of impervious surfaces. Therefore, vegetation-based and roadside practices, such as tree wells, bioswales, and bump-out bioretention, can offer the most potential benefit. Support for green street standards (e.g., Baton Rouge and Orlando), details for roadside and parking lot GSI (e.g., Raleigh), and incorporation of GSI in stormwater design manuals are ways communities can support urban heat mitigation through their stormwater program. Resources are available through Heat.gov, the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, and ReBuild NC, among others, to start thinking how your community can address urban heat and further your stormwater program's goals.
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Tennessee River Rescue
Maria Price, City of Chattanooga, TN
The Tennessee River Rescue, the longest-running clean-up in the Tennessee River Watershed Basin, will be held October 5th. For more than 35 years, volunteers have gathered along the TN River and its tributaries to clear litter from the waterways in Tennessee and Alabama. In 2023, over 1,000 volunteers removed ~12 tons of trash, 130 tires, and ~800 lbs. of bulk items (furniture, appliances, etc.). Through outreach and media coverage, an estimated 40,000 individuals became aware of litter issues in our watershed. Sponsorships help provide gloves, grabbers, bags, dumpsters, and other items to assist with the cleanup.
This annual initiative encourages everyone to participate, including municipalities, local clubs, and individuals who donate their time and resources, understanding that water crosses all borders and impacts everyone.
The effort is spearheaded by WaterWays with partners like Tennessee RiverLine. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. To get involved, please visit the official Tennessee River Rescue website!
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NACWA Corner
Provided by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies
Matthew McKenna, Director, Government Affairs
 U.S. Supreme Court Set to Hear Key Clean Water Utility Permitting Case in October
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case challenging the EPA's handling of water pollution permits on October 16th. The case, San Francisco v. EPA, questions the agency's reliance on broad, generic pollution limits often found in utility National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued under the Clean Water Act.
The issue in this case is the lawfulness of generic permitting provisions requiring utility discharges not to "cause or contribute to the violation of water quality standards." A split Ninth Circuit panel ruled that such language is lawful and can be directly enforced against utilities. Unfortunately, however, that ruling effectively paves the way for regulators and outside groups to enforce so-called "effluent limitations" against utilities that are not included in the permit under the guise of protecting water quality standards throughout a permit's entire term, thereby turning permit compliance into an ever-moving target and threatening the significant infrastructure investments utilities make each year.
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies led coalitions of public clean water agencies and state associations in filing amicus briefs asking the Supreme Court to take up San Francisco’s appeal of the Ninth Circuit decision and supporting San Francisco’s legal positions in the case.
Those briefs helped demonstrate to the Court the potential impacts - such generic permitting terms could have on municipalities nationwide by undermining the efficiency and efficacy of utility investments to the detriment of the public ratepayers, including those in disadvantaged communities, left to shoulder the burden of the corresponding increased costs of providing clean water services.
The briefs also laid out several statutory arguments NACWA has maintained throughout the litigation, which the dissenting judge in the Ninth Circuit found persuasive and which show how EPA’s use of such unlawful permitting provisions negates the regulatory certainty Congress clearly intended to provide to permit holders under the NPDES “permit shield” provision.
While oral arguments will take place in October, it’s likely that a final decision by the Court will spill into 2025.
Please contact Matthew McKenna, NACWA’s Director of Government Affairs with questions.
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