Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007 - (Page 38)

REGULATIONS Sifting the Layers With increasingly stringent state requirements, stormwater and erosion control on government projects is becoming more challenging. By Chris Lowe State by state, the requirements for stormwater management and erosion control are trending toward diversity. With local climate, soil types, and rainfall averages driving many of these requirements, there is likely to be less continuity in environmental requirements in the future because of local environment and population. Coastal areas and high-density populated areas seem to have more stringent requirements. While the specific methods of stormwater and erosion control are not beyond the scope of most civil engineers’ capabilities, the continuing disparities among state and local requirements makes meeting these standards more difficult. Government Projects Add Another Layer When working on federal projects, stormwater and erosion control project team members face challenges in meeting yet another layer of requirements. Although not required, the federal mil- denus www.Adenus.com 877-669-0786 ® Sustainable Wastewater Solutions Turnkey Solutions provided in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee Design Services, Products, and Operation Support oﬀered nationwide for the Decentralized Market Circle 173 • or www.LandDevelopmentToday.com/adinfo itary installations try to be a good neighbor by abiding by local and state regulations. In Department of Defense projects, for instance, the local and state stormwater and erosion management requirements must be met. Additionally, the military installation on which the project is located may have its own requirements and/or best management practices. In most cases, the installation will defer to the state as the authority on the set up of erosion control. Any added requirements will be in line with, or more stringent than, the state’s. There may also be particular methods preferred on one base versus another. For instance, one installation may prefer straw bale check dams, while another may call for silt fences. It can become a balancing act to try to please each entity while still meeting legal requirements. The soil types and rainfall characteristics of the area often dictate these erosion control methods. Military installations often have an environmental department that becomes involved in the design process, feeding information and guiding the design team through their needs and unique challenges. These environmental personnel— often six to eight dedicated to a particular project—can be almost as big as the design team. They are there to assist, but can also make meeting the requirements more challenging. Regionalism in Requirements Perhaps the most challenging aspect of working on Department of Defense projects is that the design team has to adapt and understand numerous states’ stormwater and erosion control requirements. 38 September 2007 Sustainable Land Development Today V http://www.Adenus.com http://www.Adenus.com http://www.LandDevelopmentToday.com/adinfo

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007 Contents Our Voice: Teaching and Learning Your Voice: Reader Response Editorial Board A 52-Mile Taking Fiber to the Front Doors of America Educators Incorporating Sustainability Land Planning: The Truth about Sprawl Irrigation: Communication Key Wastewater: Many Challenges Determine Sewer Options Regulation: Changing by State, Region, and Municipality Risk Management: Construction Defect Claims Recommended Reading Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index Calendar Classifieds The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007

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