LEGAL 



TIDES 



s 



l^/tudies show that storm 

 water carries sediment, 

 nutrients, organic materials, 

 bacteria, oil and grease, metals 

 and toxic and synthetic 

 chemicals — posing public 

 health threats, economic losses 

 to commercial fisheries and 

 tourism, and damage to 

 aquatic environments. 



Storm Water Management: 



A Coastal 

 Imperative 



By Pant Smith 



A 



sudden cloudburst can be a welcome relief on a blazing hot summer 

 afternoon at the beach. Refreshing. Cleansing. 

 Or not. 



It could mean that storm water cascading from drainpipes into coastal waters is 

 depositing polluted runoff from surrounding parking lots, streets, commercial properties and 

 fertilized residential lawns and gardens. It's enough to ruin the day for swimmers. 



But that's not the half of it. Scientists say that storm water runoff is the leading cause of 

 degraded water quality. 



The stakes are especially high for coastal estuaries — the nursery grounds for dozens 

 of species of finfish and shellfish and the array of aquatic plant life they rely upon for 

 sustenance and shelter. 



Studies show that storm water carries sediment, nutrients, organic materials, bacteria, 

 oil and grease, metals and toxic and synthetic chemicals — posing public health threats, 

 economic losses to commercial fisheries and tourism, and damage to aquatic environments. 



Rapidly increasing population growth and development in coastal regions could be a 

 source of even more coastal water quality problems in the future if the prediction holds true 

 that by 2010 nearly half of the U.S. population will live near coastal waters. 



Tackling storm water runoff pollution is not just a coastal issue, says Walter Clark, 

 North Carolina Sea Grant coastal law and policy specialist. 



Municipalities across the state are working to develop effective storm water manage- 

 ment plans to protect water resources in every watershed and river basin. 



By 2004, the North Carolina General Assembly is expected to adopt permanent rules 

 for implementing the Phase II Storm Water Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection 

 Agency (EPA), National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). 



Phase II requires small municipalities and operators of construction sites from one to 

 five acres to implement storm water management plans. 



Phase I, governing larger municipalities, has been in place since 1990, Clark explains. 



A NATIONAL IMPERATIVE 



"Protecting the nation's water quality has been an important element under the 

 umbrella of sustainable development since the passage of the federal Water Pollution 

 Control Act in 1972," says Clark. "Commonly called the Clean Water Act (CWA), this law 

 establishes national standards to protect water quality." 



Clark explains that an early goal of the CWA was the development of a permit program 

 to control discharges entering bodies of water through easily identified sources, such as a 

 pipe or a ditch. Since the 1970s, federal and state mandates have targeted these discharges, 

 called point sources, for pollution controls. 



Continued 

 COASTWATCH 27 



