Michael A. Nesteroff and Andrew F. Rigel in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce: As we enter the fall rainy season (which is not to be confused with the summer rainy season), most business owners in this region probably have a lot of other things on their minds than how much it might be raining. But once the precipitation lands on an industrial facility or construction site, it becomes stormwater that must be handled properly under regulations issued by the Washington Department of Ecology.This year, we have seen implementation of even tougher new requirements for industrial facilities and now Ecology is tightening the stormwater requirements for construction sites. Consequently, many businesses are likely to find themselves out of compliance and subject to potential legal action, particularly as local public-interest environmental groups pay close attention to the reports filed by these facilities.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 1,200 industrial facilities that discharge stormwater have had to comply with new permit requirements. Some of these covered facilities are not aware of the new industrial stormwater permit, they may not have updated their stormwater pollution prevention plan, or they are having difficulty meeting the new permit's more stringent requirements….
A storm drain, shot by Menetekel, Wikimedia Commons
1 comment:
Stormwater pollution is a major problem for most industries. Primarily because the rainy season becomes a period of contamination. The runoff water has the harmful effect of transferring the dirt from various areas directly to rivers and other water sources.
That sense of urgency to save the environment fueled stricter mechanisms on the part of the government. Effective business response to such requirements should include stormwater best management practices. Some enterprises invest in 'green' infrastructures like drains and pipes that can contain huge amounts of rain. Storm water BMP (best management practice) in this case can contribute largely because the infrastructure can help halt the influx of harmful materials to the bodies of water.
Hope businesses would be able to keep up with feds' higher requirements. Thanks for sharing!
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