Ensuring Accountability and Public Participation in Stormwater Permitting

As spring rains approach, the need for more stringent stormwater controls comes into sharper focus. Rain is a life-giver, of course, but in our ever more paved environment, it's also a conveyance for water pollution. Stormwater runoff in urban areas travels across rooftops, roads, sidewalks and eventually into a municipal storm sewer system, all the while accumulating a cocktail of various pollutants that includes oil residue from roads, pesticides and excess fertilizer from lawns and farms, and more. . These pollutants flow into in local streams and have a direct - and sometimes severe - impact on the water quality and local aquatic ecosystems.