This document discusses green infrastructure and stormwater management programs and policies. It provides an overview of Lynn Richards from the EPA's Smart Growth Program speaking at the Congress for New Urbanism on June 13, 2008 about developing different standards for greenfield development and redevelopment in stormwater permits and recognizing land use strategies that directly benefit water quality. The document outlines examples of better and worse responses to stormwater management and provides details on stormwater credits and applying permits to development projects.

1. Making Great Neighborhoods:
Greening Stormwater Permits and
Programs
Congress for New Urbanism
June 13, 2008
Lynn Richards
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Smart Growth Program

2. “Bad” Responses
 Same standards for greenfield development as redevelopment
 Can make it harder to redevelop, create dense urban areas
 Especially problematic with very high green infrastructure standards
 Many SW requirements are trying to do two things:
 Regulate stormwater
 Fix past ills: retrofitting existing development
 Newest standard that is emerging
 Pre = post
 What is “pre” for a parking lot?
 Creates confusion
 Stormwater requirements links to planning or other non-environmental
outcomes, like affordable housing
 Where’s the water quality benefit?!
 Cluster development- conservation sub divisions
 Maybe a good option in some rural areas, but in general these subdivisions
still require significant off site impervious surfaces and significant driving
 Requiring sidewalks on only one side of the road

3. Better Responses
 Develop different standards for greenfield
development and redevelopment
 Recognize land use strategies that have a
*direct* water quality benefit
 Differentiate between your stormwater standard
and a retrofit policy
 Retrofit policy should include:
 Redevelopment
 Parking lots and other large paved areas
 Transportation network: streets and roads

4. State General Stormwater Permit
 Proposed by West Virginia and Tennessee
 Other states considering
 EPA is considering national rule making
 All development must use green infrastructure
approaches to manage stormwater on site.
 Meet a numeric performance standard: 90 % of
average annual storm event (WV = 1 inch)
 For projects that cannot meet 100% of the
requirement on-site, two alternatives are available:
off-site mitigation and payment in lieu.

5. Stormwater Credits
 The permit recognizes the water quality benefit of
some land use strategies
 A 10% reduction from the performance standard:
 Redevelopment
 Brownfield redevelopment
 High Density (7 or more units per acre)
 Vertical density (18 or more units or 2.0 FAR)
 Mixed Use and Transit-Oriented Development
 The largest reduction any one project could
receive is 50%

6. Apply the permit: Atlantic Station

7. Applying the permit: Atlantic Station
 Atlanta Station: Mixed use  Cobb/Fulton: single use low
brownfield redevelopment density
 139 acres  1200 acres
 Runoff generated: 6.7 million  Runoff generated: 26.3 million
cu/ft/yr cu/ft/yr
 Credits:  No credits available
• Brownfield redevelopment (2  Permit would require 1” of runoff
credits: 1 for redevelopment, 1 to be managed
for brownfield)
• High and Vertical density (2
 Amount of runoff required to be
credits) managed: 23.6 million
• Mixed use and TOD (1 credit) cu/ft/yr
 Permit would require 1/2” of  Amount of runoff coming off the
runoff to be managed site: 2.7 million cu/ft/year
 Amount of runoff required to be
managed: 3.4 million cu/ft/yr Atlantic Station site produces approx 75% less
stormwater
 Amount of runoff coming off the
site: 3.3 million cu/ft/yr At the end of the year, both sites have approximately
the same water quality impact
Because of the reduced SW management
requirements, developer can save considerable $ and
land area

8. To best protect water quality
Preserve, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
 Preserve: Protect and enhance natural features, such as
undisturbed forests, meadows, wetlands, and other natural
areas.
 Recycle: Recycle land by directing development to already
degraded land, e.g., parking lots, vacant buildings,
abandoned malls.
 Reduce: Reduce land consumption and development
footprint by using land efficiently
 Reuse: Capture and reuse stormwater by directing it back
into the into the ground through infiltration,
evapotranspiration, or reuse.

9. How to Implement:
EPA’s Water Quality Scorecard
 Drivers of impervious cover at regional, neighborhood,
site scales
 Requires cooperation and conversation between
numerous departments
 Identifies 21 broad policy areas across 5 different
municipal departments
 More than 230 different policies, codes, or incentives a
local government could implement

10. 4 Ways to Impact Change
 Adopt Plans
 Remove Barriers
 Create Incentives
 Enact
Regulations

11.  Protect Natural Resources and Open Space
 Promote Compact Development and Infill
 Design Complete, Smart Streets that Reduce
Imperviousness
 Encourage Efficient Parking Supply
 Green Infrastructure On Site

12. 5.AŃ Green Infrastructure Practices Implementation Tools and Policies Points
(1) Question: Are green infrastructure Adopt Plans/Educate:
practices encouraged as legal and preferred
for managing stormwater runoff? • Inform the public, through education and outreach programs, that green 1
infrastructure practices can be used to manage stormwater runoff on their property.
Goal: All types of green infrastructure are
allowed and legal. Local government has • Create a training program for internal and external reviews to ensure that the 1
removed all impediments to using green stakeholders that will be using this tool will have the ability to understand and use it
infrastructure (including for stormwater effectively.
requirements), such as limits on infiltration
in right-of-ways, permit challenges for
green roofs, concerns about mosquitoes in Remove Barriers:
rain barrels, safety issues with permeable
pavements, and other such unnecessary • Development and other codes encourage and allow property owners to adopt 1
barriers. home-based green infrastructure practices, such as rain gardens, rain barrels and
other rainwater harvesting practices.
Why: Green infrastructure approaches
have been proven to be more effective and • Review and change, where necessary, building codes or other local regulations to 1
cost efficient than conventional stormwater ensure that all local government departments/agencies have coordinated with one
management practices in many instances another to ensure that green infrastructure implementation is legal.
and provide other substantial community
benefits.
Adopt Incentives:
• Green infrastructure practices credited towards required controls for stormwater 1
runoff.
• Establish a ŅGr
een TapeÓexpedited review program for applications that include 1
green infrastructure practices.
Enact Regulations:
• Zoning and subdivision regulations specifically permit green infrastructure 1 to 4 points
facilities, including but not limited to: (1 point for each technique to a maximum of
4 points)
--Green roofs;
--Infiltration approaches, such as rain gardens, curb extensions, planter gardens,

13. Thank You
Lynn Richards,
EPA’s Smart Growth
Program
202-566-2858
Richards.Lynn@epa.gov