HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM IV-DSummary of Comments from Western Washington Municipalities
for Presentation at the Storm Water Technical Resource Center Advisory Committee
on June 22, 2010.
Compiled by Rich Wagner, Auburn City Councilman, Association of Washington Cities
Western Washington representative to the Advisory Committee from interviews and notes
submitted by Mark Palmer, Kurt Fremont, and Lorna Mauren.
The Advisory Committee is seeking comments to help identify and construct effective services
that provide real and meaningful support to all storm water permitees across the state of
Washington.
Cities providing input include: Puyallup, Tacoma, Bonney Lake, Milton, Fircrest, Olympia,
Sumner, Lakewood, Edgewood, Gig Harbor, Lacey, Fife, Centralia, Mt. Vernon, and
Bellingham.
Comments were made in response to two questions:
(1) What are your biggest issues with storm water management?
(2) How could the Storm Water Technical Resource Center best serve your needs.
Cities' Biggest Issues:
• Funding for staff to implement and maintain storm water program elements.
• Lack of funding to implement retrofit existing infrastructure that could benefit water
quality in the storm system.
• Help implementing new Low Impact Development, LID, requirements.
• Measuring the effectiveness of retrofits, LID and new technologies that get proposed . .
in t car ~uris actions.
• Need a robust, searchable database for storm water treatment technologies that shows
how they work in different environments, including a usable menu to choose
appropriate Best Management Practices, BMP's.
• TAP-E technology assessment needs to be reinstated. Currently cities and industries
simply have to trust the vendors too much.
• Cities and academics need to be bridged to get the applied research that really helps.
• Figuring out what the maintenance of the new technologies and LID BMPs will look
like and the cost.
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The SWTRC could best serve cities' needs by:
• Providing one-stop-shopping for LID questions from cities and consultants. Cities
spend time helping developers understand requirements; the SWTRC could take calls
(a "help line") to answer questions about LID requirements and other
new/redevelopment issues.
• Offering help with grant research, application and management.
• Tracking where LID and other storm water management elements are installed, what
they are, when they get maintained, and how they work. Consolidate and share the
experiences of other cities.
• Modeling their website after The Municipal Research and Services Center which is
very helpful for cities.
• Hosting rotating environmental specialists from different cities or consultants to
provide field visits to assist with spill response, inspections, maintenance, public
e ucation.
• Organizing training events regionally and ensuring that appropriate cities get
informed of storm water training. The SWTRC could hold training, or just announce
training that is scheduled in other communities. Aone-stop-shopping place to go to
for NPDES training, for staff or for groups such as homeowners' associations.
• Coordinating public education and outreach efforts county-wide or regionally.
• Receiving and posting feedback from the public regarding the quality of SWTRC
services.
• Coordinating storm water water quality engineering and construction with industrial
permitees.
• Providing advice for cities where storm water causes flooding.
• Offering water quality control guidance where storm water management affects city
drinking water supplies, e.g. lakes, springs, or watersheds.
• Employing on-call experts that could visit sites.
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Stormwater Technical Resource Center
The Washington State Stormwater Technical Resource Center (Center) was created through the passage of House Bill
2222 in the 2009 legislative session. The bill, since codified in RCW 90.48.545, provides for Ecology to establish "a storm
water technical resource center in partnership with a university, nonprofit organization, or other public or private entity to
provide tools for storm water management."
To begin the process of creating the Center, the Department of Ecology Ecology) has provided grant funding to the City
of Puyallup and its two primary associates Washington State University and the University of Washington. The funding is
to be used in developing the overall management and administrative strategy for the Center.
According to the RCW, the Center shall provide a numberof state-wide services including:
(a) Review and evaluate emerging storm water technologies,
(b) Research and develop innovative and cost-effective technical solutions to remove pollutants from runoff and to reduce
or eliminate storm water discharges,
(c) Conduct pilot projects to test technical solutions,
(d) Serve as a clearinghouse and outreach center for information on storm water technology,
(e) Assist in the development of storm water control methods to better protect water quality, including source control,
product substitution, pollution prevention, and storm water treatment,
(f) Coordinate with federal, state, and local agencies and private organizations in administering programs related to storm
water control measures,
(g) Collaborate with existing storm water outreach programs, and
(h) Identify a funding strategy for funding the Center.
The RCW also requires the creation of an Advisory Committee (AC) to assist in the development of the Center. The
advisory committee must include representatives from relevant state agencies, local governments, the business
community, the environmental community, tribes, and the building and development industry.
The Center will be located at the Washington State University Puyallup Research & Extension Center.
We are still very early in the process of establishing the Stormwater Technical Resource Center. The first task is to
establish the Advisory Committee. That task in currently in process.
There will be three workshops held to solicit information on how the Center should be operated and what services should
be provided Information on when and where the workshops will be held will be posted on this website as well as Ecology's
site.
http://www.cityofpuyallup.org/services/development-services/puyallups-stormwater-management-program/stormwater-technical-resource-center/