County takes step toward stormwater committee

Several years have passed since Cape Girardeau County had an active stormwater advisory committee, but with regulations pending on how the county must deal with potential pollutants, officials hope to start one.

Ken Eftink, the county's floodplain and stormwater manager, on Monday proposed forming a seven-person committee that would make determinations on whether pending regulations for stormwater are appropriate and whether the county is financially able to abide by the regulations.

Cape Girardeau County is among eight newly designated communities in the state that must implement a program beginning this year known as a Stormwater Management Plan. As part of the program, the county must apply for a permit through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to address the reduction of pollution in stormwater runoff with six minimum control measures: public education and outreach; public involvement and participation; illicit discharge detection and elimination; construction site runoff control; post-construction site runoff control; and pollution prevention.

Eftink told county commissioners that forming the committee would be a way for the county to have public participation and further public education.

"I think in our case, as we move forward in this, we are going to be required to create some regulations, and it would be good to have citizens' input on what those regulations might look like," he said.

The county received its designation as some sections now lie within urbanized-area boundaries determined by a 2010 U.S. Census count.

A permit application for the county already has been sent to the DNR, and the agency responded with details on each of the measures and in particular, according to Eftink, asked for new regulations on stormwater runoff at construction sites.

"They do want us to adopt some kind of regulation where we would go out and do inspections and do enforcement on the sites," he said.

County officials and Eftink agreed the committee should include residents who live in the area that would be required to abide by the regulations, along with local construction and engineering professionals, since those contractors would have to make adjustments to development plans to meet stormwater runoff regulations. The committee would meet in an open setting and the public would be encouraged to provide input, according to Eftink.

Letters announcing the county's intention to form the committee will be sent to approximately 1,600 county residents who live in the areas to be regulated, and the county will post information for the general public on its website.

Similar committees have advised the commission during the planning stages of the Hubble Creek Watershed Improvement Plan, which Eftink said was never fully implemented, and during times when the county had grant money for stormwater improvements.

Goals of the committee would be to make recommendations and initiate actions with the commissions' approval that would prevent pollutants from entering rivers, lakes, streams and drinking water supplies and protect downstream properties from increased flooding, head cutting, stream bank erosion and damage to public and private property; make recommendations that keep the county in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency and DNR regulations for annual approval of the permit; make recommendations to the commission to meet the goals of the program along with how the recommendations would be implemented, paid for, enhanced and tangible results measured; and review the program and make recommendations for changes over time.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy has said the county is approaching the new regulatory situation cautiously and said on Monday the county has been looking into the legalities of having to abide by the regulations, which would require the county to pass an ordinance that applies only to the people who live within the urbanized-area boundary.

The county has five years to implement the program and final plans are due to the DNR in May.

eragan@semissourian.com

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