For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today announced the establishment of a multi-agency Clean Water Task Force to determine the best ways to improve water quality. The announcement of the Task Force comes a day after the County Council approved for the reconciliation list a proposal sponsored by County Councilmembers Steve Silverman and Nancy Floreen that will add more than $1.5 million in funding to improve stormwater management activities; increase residential street sweeping to prevent salt, sand and trash from damaging County streams; and add a new Environmental Compliance Officer, a position Duncan recommended, to the Department of Public Works and Transportation. The Task Force will focus on promoting Low Impact Development (LID) projects and enhance Montgomery County’s current aggressive stormwater management activities, particularly in older, more urbanized neighborhoods that were developed without modern stormwater management systems. LID is a simple, effective, and flexible approach to stormwater management that protects streams and rivers and controls urban runoff in a way that reduces pollutants, reduces runoff volume, manages runoff timing, and addresses a number of other ecological concerns.
“Montgomery County is a national leader in stormwater management and stream protection efforts, becoming the first jurisdiction in Maryland to establish a dedicated river protection fund” said Duncan. “While the Bush and Ehrlich Administrations have worked to undermine the Clean Water Act, we are acting locally to ensure the health of our waterways, many of which flow into the Chesapeake Bay.”
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will convene the Clean Water Task Force to determine how interagency communication and coordination can be improved to promote innovative stormwater management practices that use more LID techniques. The Task Force will look at best practices and other techniques that could objectively quantify and measure water quality. The Task Force will also select appropriate public sector projects, such as schools, parks, roads and sidewalks, to use LID methods.
“Yesterday, the Council acted to significantly expand small scale, low impact alternatives that improve water quality and help us clean up our rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal. “Creative measures that use Low Impact Development techniques will make a significant difference in enhancing environmental quality.”
“The Council’s actions to fund Low Impact Development projects will help sustain essential water resources like the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Councilmember Steve Silverman, who proposed the Low Impact Development proposal at the Council along with Councilmember Nancy Floreen.
Councilmember Nancy Floreen added, “We are changing the words to Kermit’s Song – we are showing that “It is Easy Being Green.” Mr. Duncan’s proposal to create this Task Force coupled with Councilmember Silverman’s and my new clean water initiative show we are all moving forward. The additional funds we added yesterday for grants to protect our rivers and streams by controlling urban runoff are the first steps toward my goal of a renaissance for water quality.”
The Task Force will be comprised of department, agency and program directors from DEP, the Department of Permitting Services, the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Montgomery County Public Schools. It is expected that the Task Force will begin meeting in July.
Duncan’s recommended fiscal year 2007 budget for the Department of Public Works and Transportation includes a new Environmental Compliance Advisor. This staff person will oversee adherence to Federal Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements and pollution prevention guidelines across the Department’s divisions.
Duncan’s creation of the Clean Water Task Force will make it easier for both public and private buildings to design and implement LID projects, strengthening the tools available for a new green building initiative recently announced by Duncan and Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal that, if approved by the County Council, will require that new buildings constructed in the County meet strict green building standards. Green buildings are energy efficient structures that use design and construction strategies, which include LID approaches to stormwater management, to reduce the environmental impacts that buildings have on their surroundings.
All new facilities in the County’s current Capital Improvements Program are already being designed to comply with the LEED certification process. The LEED Green Building Rating System was developed by the United States Green Buildings Council (USGBC). It identifies criteria that positively impact the energy and environmental characteristics of a building, including sustainability of a site, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Leventhal’s bill will require that the County’s Department of Permitting Services and the Planning Board make their own judgments about the number of LEED points that a building will obtain.