SPRINGDALE -- Builders in Springdale will face a more stringent permitting process if the Springdale City Council approves stormwater pollution control measures Tuesday.
By Bob Caudle
The NW Arkansas Morning News
5/0/05
SPRINGDALE -- Builders in Springdale will face a more stringent permitting process if the Springdale City Council approves stormwater pollution control measures Tuesday.
Council members will review regulations and consider adopting the Storm Water, Pollution Prevention, Grading and Erosion Control Manual.
The ordinance includes adopting the Best Management Practices for Storm Water Pollution.
The two regulations are part of the MS4 Storm Water Regulations mandated by the federal government's Clean Water Act.
"Developers will be required to get a grading permit, ensure erosion control such as silt fences and keep the streets clean," said Patsy Christie, the city's planning and community development director.
Municipalities across the United States will eventually be required to adopt the standards, Christie said. She said city officials in Northwest Arkansas have tried to make the regulations easy to implement.
"All the larger cities in Northwest Arkansas have worked together to try and develop similar standards," Christie said. "We don't want developers to have to learn a different set of regulations for each city."
Springdale is in Phase II of the Storm Water Project. Phase I required the city to develop a plan, publicize it and submit it to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
Phase II requires the council to approve a stormwater management program "designed to prevent pollutants from being washed by stormwater runoff into local bodies of water."
