Rain, Rain, Go Away

EPA not great at regulating stormwater pollution, says report 1

Stormwater pollution from cities and suburbs is fouling the nation's waterways, and the U.S. EPA is failing to do much about it, says a new National Academy of Sciences report commissioned by the EPA itself. Rain and melted snow run along paved surfaces -- which show up more and more frequently these days -- picking up oil, trash, motor fuels, dog poo, chemicals, and more, and dumping it all in rivers, lakes, and streams. "EPA's current approach is not likely to produce an accurate picture of the extent of the problem, nor is it likely to control stormwater's contribution to impairing water quality," says the report; "radical changes" are needed to rein in runoff and keep waterways swimmable and fishable. The authors suggest putting local governments in charge of stormwater management instead of developers, emphasizing volume control, taking watershed location into account when issuing pollution permits, and (duh) conserving natural space.

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  1. Wolverine Posted 2:54 am
    18 Oct 2008

    Radical ChangeYes, a radical change is needed, but it goes way beyond what is suggested here.  The largest source of non-point source pollution in urban areas is the oil leaking from motor vehicles, mainly private autos.  Here in the SF Bay Area, a lot more oil leaks from cars into the Bay annually than was spilled by the COSCO Busan!  Building a good public transit system and eliminating private autos in urban areas is the only solution that would completely fix this problem.  Cities might be able to build some sort of containment to stop the oil from getting into waterways, but there's no way to prevent it from getting into groundwater.
    So, the real issue here is where do you stand?  With the Earth, or with humans and their selfish desire to drive regardless of how much harm it causes?

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