Storm water and flooding comprise major and growing risks to cities, transportation systems, people, and the environment. Flooding is the major cause of property damage in the U.S., and recent catastrophic hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma, Sandy and Katrina have raised losses to unprecedented levels. Storm water management requires the organization of public utilities and responses to rain tax politics, consent orders, and demands for green inf...

As a utility professional you are a person of service. You serve the citizens of your area to provide them with what we consider a basic right. Unfortunately in this age of social media those same citizens you serve may have lost their gratitude for the privileges you provide, often only engaging at the roughest moments, without worry because of the shelter and anonymity provided by social media. You may have even asked yourself why you would...

During the past year, new federal regulatory and policy initiatives, together with ongoing litigation in both the state and federal court systems, have impacted wastewater treatment plants. If you represent, advise or are employed by agencies or local government entities responsible for the management or operation of wastewater treatment plants, then you should review this information, which will highlight and discuss both the most pertinent i...

Know the impact contaminated soil has on you and your company and how to clean it up. Many property owners, lessees, architects, engineers, developers and contractors encounter contaminated soils on commercial, retail and industrial properties. However, these persons are usually not trained how to evaluate the risks posed by contaminated soils. In addition, most persons are not aware about how the presence of contaminated soils can impair thei...

Know how to use your stormwater permit to direct a comprehensive stormwater management. Think back fifteen years ago. Storm water management at municipalities, factories, and warehouses focused on keeping water off the streets and occasionally repairing a failing catch basin. Storm water issues were typically "out of sight, out of mind;" unless a drenching rain event drew attention to a clogged pipe or eroding channel. Now, as we begin 2018, m...

Know how to balance the interest of your company with cooperating with the EPA inspectors. Most environmental enforcement begins with an EPA inspection of the event or facility, and the inspection can be the most critical phase of the entire enforcement process. Although EPA and the states have broad inspection authority, companies are often at a loss regarding how to handle an environmental inspection. As a result, inspectors are often allowe...

Stay current on the ever changing legal landscape of CEQA and avoid the pitfalls that are inherent in applying. CEQA continues to evolve in the courts. The last quarter of 2016 and 2017 so far were no exceptions, including three significant California Supreme Court decisions and dozens of Court of Appeal decisions. This information will cover all of the Supreme Court decisions, along with the significant Court of Appeal decisions that will sha...

Review approaches to restoring degraded or impacted wetlands and outline practices to be considered in a restoration project. Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals are part of wetland ecosystems. Physical and chemical features such as climate, topology, geology, and the movement and abundance of water help determine the plant and anim...

Learn how to plan and execute a program to assess and address aging water distribution infrastructure. This topic will provide you with useful information for dealing with an aging water infrastructure. The water problems in Flint, Michigan brought national attention to problems caused by aging water pipes. Agencies are discovering that water engineering design is a specialty field. Most civil engineers learn highway and traffic engineering as...

Gain an understanding of the legal basis for administrative orders and how the orders are used. EPA used to hold all of the cards when it issued an administrative order. A recipient could not challenge the factual or legal basis: it could either perform the remedy or wait for EPA to file an enforcement action and bring these challenges in the context of that action. Such a course had significant risks, because the penalties could be doubled fo...