The Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA and its partners will host a series of stormwater management (MS4) workshops in January and February for municipal officials, employees, and engineers working in Dauphin, Lancaster, York, Cumberland, and Franklin Counties.

The workshops are scheduled for--

--  January 27: for municipal officials and staff, Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster, 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Click Here for registration form (deadline Jan. 17).

--  January 29: for municipal officials and staff, Radisson Hotel, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill (across from Harrisburg), 9 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Click Here for registration form (deadline Jan. 17); and

-- February 3: for engineers, Clarion Hotel Inn, 148 Sheraton Dr., New Cumberland, Cumberland County, 8 a.m. to Noon. Click Here for registration form (deadline Jan. 24).

The workshops will provide educational and outreach assistance, offer technical support, and explore financial opportunities to help communities pay for improvements to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permitting requirements.

“Polluted runoff is not only a top pollution source, it directly impacts our economy from the property damage caused by small stream and big river flooding events,” said Ruth Hocker, P.E., CBF’s Pennsylvania Senior Scientist. “Aging and inadequate infrastructure in our older boroughs and cities coupled with land use changes and increased development without adequate controls for dealing with run-off exacerbate the problem. By making significant improvements to existing systems, and by incorporating green infrastructure techniques into new development, we can turn this around.”

The Susquehanna River Basin is one of the most flood-prone river systems in the United States, with millions of dollars in property damage occurring each year. And while there are many sources degrading the Commonwealth’s rivers and streams, polluted runoff from suburban and urban areas is of significant concern. Currently the third largest pollution source and has damaged nearly 2,500 miles of our streams and rivers.

Polluted runoff generally originates from urban and suburban areas. As rainwater flows across hard surfaces, such as parking lots, roadways, rooftops, and even our manicured grass lawns, it can pick up and carry with it a mixture of potentially toxic pollutants.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation recognized that a comprehensive and coordinated initiative to raise awareness and understanding of polluted runoff, as well as the opportunities to make improvements, was needed.

Thanks to a grant from the William Penn Foundation, CBF will be hosting, with the URS Corporation presenting, informational workshops for municipal officials, engineers, and technical staff.

The workshops are free; however, reservations are required and attendance is limited to municipal officials, municipal employees, and engineers working only in Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, York, and Franklin Counties.

CBF hopes to be able to provide additional workshops to a broader geographic region in the future.

For more information on the workshops, contact Ruth Hocker, P.E., by sending email to: rhocker@cbf.org.

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1/13/2014