*6/16/11 Crosscut
By Robert McClure/InvestigateWest
How far should Washington go to rein in the largest source of water pollution fouling Puget Sound and many other water bodies in the state?
A proposal by the Washington state Ecology Department is drawing fire from environmentalists as being too lax and from builders as being potentially super-costly.
…For environmentalists, the proposed regulations seem likely to allow far too many developments to exit the stormwater-cleanup highway.
“This proposal is a disappointment in its current form,” said Bruce Wishart, lobbyist for the environmental group People for Puget Sound. “It needs a lot of work. It’s a small step forward but the department (of Ecology) has really failed to take advantage of the opportunity that was presented.”
Wishart said the rules should seek to maintain green spaces and minimize the amount of hard surfaces such as roofs and concrete that shed rainwater rapidly, “and Ecology has really dropped the ball in that area with this initial proposal.”
“In addition, I would say the proposal is riddled with loopholes and it would be very difficult to enforce in its current form, so there needs to be some improvement in that area as well,” Wishart said.
One of the harshest critics of Ecology’s stormwater-cleanup efforts is Tom Holz, an engineer and planner, who charges that the regulations Ecology is advancing “will preserve no forest, will not limit hardened surfaces, and will not limit discharge of rainfall to surface waters. “
More at
http://crosscut.com/2011/06/16/puget-sound/21028/State-caught-in-crossfire-on-proposed-new-urban-runoff-rules/