All SESWA members are encouraged to serve on one of the Association's four programmatic committees including Communications, Conference & Education, Membership, or Stormwater Policy.

Volunteering to serve on a committee is a great way to become more involved in SESWA. Join today to have a say in your Association's programs and network with other stormwater professionals throughout the Southeast.

Committee re-appointments are not automatic! Whether you wish to return to a committee or be appointed for the first time, please complete a Committee Request Form. The incoming President will be making appointments by early November.

SESWA members now have access to a one-page stormwater utility factsheet. This tool is intended to be used as a resource to share with local officials to illustrate the importance and benefit of stormwater utilities. Visit the SESWA website to download your free copy today!

With the increase in job opportunities, it can be hard to spotlight your vacancies. SESWA’s Job Board is the perfect place to connect with other stormwater professionals across the Southeast and let them know you are hiring. Posting job openings is easy and FREE for SESWA members.  All postings are featured for up to 30 days. Visit the SESWA Job Board and submit your job opening form today!

Visit the Community Forum and connect online with other stormwater professionals across the Southeast. The Forum can be found under the "Members Only" tab on the SESWA website. Join this virtual gathering place to ask a question or post something that is happening in your area that might be helpful to others. Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates!

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In late August 2021 a federal court in Arizona remanded and also vacated the current WOTUS definitions as adopted in the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule. A number of courts have remanded the rule back to EPA and the Army Corps for review and possible revision. Of note, the Arizona decision is the first to vacate (invalidate) the rule. Many lawyers and the Administration are interpreting the decision as having nationwide effect, and EPA and the Corps are no longer enforcing or implementing policy based on the 2020 rule. A second question in front of the Arizona court was whether the 2019 Repeal Rule should also be invalidated. The Court asked for more information on that question and gave the parties in the litigation until mid-October to submit documentation.

Vacating the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule reverts WOTUS policy back to the pre-2015 regulations that were originally developed in the 1980s, since the 2020 rule was adopted after the 2019 rule repealing the 2015 Clean Water Rule was effective. However, if the 2019 repeal rule is also vacated/invalidated, WOTUS policy then shifts back to the 2015 rule. SESWA and other local government interests still have a lawsuit challenging the 2015 rule in Tallahassee federal court.

Meanwhile, EPA and the Army Corps held a series of webinar meetings in August and September to receive initial comments on WOTUS policy as the agencies begin yet another rule-making effort to define what is or is not a “Water of the United States.” Visit SESWA’s Advocacy page for a chronology of all WOTUS actions including a summary of impacts on local governments.

The April 2020 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund required (for the first time) that pollutants discharged into groundwater may be required to obtain a Clean Water Act permit if the pollutant eventually finds its way to a jurisdictional surface water. Maui had discharged treated wastewater into injection wells that eventually traveled to the Pacific Ocean. The decision has implications for other wastewater treatment and similar discharges, such as those from animal feeding operations or coal ash disposal sites. SCOTUS identified seven criteria in its Maui decision governing when groundwater discharges were the “functional equivalent” of a surface water discharge and thus required to obtain an NPDES permit. The previous EPA administration had adopted an eighth criteria – the design and performance of the facility from which the pollutants were released – which had been challenged by several groups. However, in September 2021 the current EPA administration rescinded that criterion as being unnecessary, going beyond the criteria established by the Court and having been adopted without proper deliberation within EPA and its federal partners.

The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. It guaranteed direct relief to local governments by creating the new Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund for matters related to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. States are allocated $195 billion, and cities and counties are allocated $130 billion. Funds are available until December 31, 2024. The law also creates an additional $2 billion Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund, which will be distributed based on economic conditions of the recipient entities in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. The National League of Cities has prepared a comprehensive and informative series of webpages on the Act.

With Green Infrastructure (GI) becoming standardized in local regulations and development, what we are familiar with as a Best Management Practice (BMP) is changing. To address this new knowledge gap, Gwinnett County, GA worked with a consulting firm to develop training specific to GI for their development inspectors. The training included site preparation for GI and the differences from previous BMP site preparation. The class then focused on bioslopes, grass channels, infiltration practices, and proprietary devices. This gave the County development inspectors valuable insight into what to look for and how to find potential trouble spots in the installation of GI. In addition to training the staff, Gwinnett County has begun revamping their online public education to provide new fact sheets on GI and even animations to illustrate how these BMPs work.

On June 29, 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 53 which was passed by the Florida Legislature during the 2021 regular session. Among other things, the new law requires the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) to provide an analysis of the expenditures necessary to repair, replace, and expand water-related infrastructure including stormwater. By the end of June 2022, and then every five years after that, each county, municipality, or special district providing stormwater services is to complete a needs analysis that projects 20 years into the future. The approach is for cities to complete and submit their analyses to the applicable county who then compiles the various reports for submittal to EDR. EDR then, within one year following the submittals, will complete a statewide analysis for inclusion in the annual assessment. At present, while required, there are no penalties for not submitting the analyses and some local governments have indicated that they may not comply with the request.

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Southeast Stormwater Association

www.SESWA.org

(866) FOR-SESWA (367-7379)