WEF Hosts Inaugural Stormwater Event

Stormwater Symposium 2012, which took place July 18 to 20 in Baltimore, brought together about 400 stormwater professionals from across the country to focus on top issues facing the stormwater sector. The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) hosted this inaugural event.

The symposium covered topics important to the research, practitioner, and legal and political sectors of stormwater. Speakers included WEF Executive Director Jeff Eger, Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Bob Summers, and several other leaders.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Nancy Stoner provided comments during the opening general session about the increasing effects stormwater has on water quality and job opportunities associated with stormwater. She also announced that EPA is providing nearly $1 million for green infrastructure projects in 17 communities across the country.

The symposium included two workshops and 25 technical sessions on topics ranging from design to funding to public outreach. For more details, see the Stormwater Symposium technical program page.

Other highlights of the symposium included the following:

• EPA staff provided a summary of a portion of the results from the Information Collection Request (ICR) related to the stormwater rulemaking, which provided a snapshot of municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) program information from across the country.
• WEF volunteers and staff met with EPA officials to discuss the status of the national stormwater rulemaking.
• WEF hosted a meeting on behalf of EPA, as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, focusing on cost-efficiency and performance of retention/infiltration-based stormwater practices.