US EPA and DoJ to support Salt Lake County’s stormwater management programme

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the state of Utah, have signed an agreement with Salt Lake County over resolving allegations of Clean Water Act violations as part of the county’s stormwater management programme.

Under the agreed terms, the county will have to take certain measures to reduce illegal stormwater and non-stormwater discharges to Jordan River Valley surface waters by implementing the requirements of its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit.

The agreement comes as EPA and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality identified several violations of the county’s MS4 permit during their inspection in 2012.

Stormwater runoff that originates during events such rain and snowmelt can pick up pollutants such as chemicals, oils and sediment as it flows over land and impervious surfaces, such as industrial storage areas, paved streets and parking lots.

These pollutants can damage the health of a watershed and cause changes in the water quality which will result in impaired drinking water sources, habitat modification and loss, increased flooding, decreased aquatic biological diversity and increased sedimentation and erosion.

In order to manage stormwater discharges, the county will secure adequate resources to maintain and implement its stormwater programme, including training and maintaining full-time staff to remove pollutants and prevent pollution by controlling it at its source.

It will also review construction site stormwater control plans, inspect sites with active construction or industrial activity and enforce sediment and erosion control requirements to manage stormwater so that it does not become contaminated before reaching surface waters.

EPA enforcement programme assistant regional administrator Suzanne Bohan said: "The rivers and streams in the Jordan River watershed support growing populations and provide significant economic and recreational benefits in Salt Lake County’s communities.

"EPA will continue to take steps to ensure that municipalities have viable stormwater programmes in place to reduce polluted runoff and protect water resources."

The Salt Lake County has also agreed to pay $280,000 in civil penalty including $140,000 to the US and $140,000 to the state of Utah, with an opportunity to offset a portion of the state amount through the completion of supplemental environmental projects.