Stormwater Partners Network

Dear Stormwater Partners,

The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Expedited Bill 40-10 around noon today!  As you know, this is the bill that amends our stormwater code to require that Environmental Site Design become the new norm in how projects are designed and built.

In this revised ordinance, Montgomery County kept its strong stormwater volume standards - requiring redevelopment as well as new development projects to address both the first one inch of each storm as well as the “Channel Protection Volume” (equivalent to the largest storm that typically occurs once per year, 2.6″ of rain in 24 hours). 

Through a concerted team effort that included “sweating the details” through legislative and administrative lobbying (beginning in Montgomery County more than a year ago on this ordinance), along with end-stage negotiations, we were able to win agreement from all stakeholders to eliminate the two worst waiver provisions that were in an earlier draft of the bill (in one case through deletion, in the other, through a revision).

Many thanks to:  Ginny Barnes, Brent Bolin, Bruce Gilmore, and Dana Minerva who each brought in persuasive powers, policy wisdom, and effective communications exactly when they were needed.  In addition, Anacostia Riverkeeper Dottie Yunger made phone calls and sent emails in support of the changes we needed to the bill, Steve Dryden testified, attended Council sessions and the negotiation, and Anne Ambler gave excellent testimony on July 13.  Many other Stormwater Partners stayed up on the issues and wrote their own letters of support.

DEP Director Hoyt and DPS Water Manager Rick Brush were also helpful throughout this process, as were the members of the Council’s T&E  Committee.  They deserve our thanks, and I will be thanking them directly.

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I am speaking on behalf of Neighbors of the Northwest Branch, a citizen-based nonprofit dedicated to the restoration of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River. We experience first hand the results of current “best management practices” for stormwater: deeply eroded stream channels, exposed and vulnerable sewer pipes, and pollution and nutrients from streets and yards carried down the Northwest Branch to the Anacostia River to be deposited in a dying Bay. 

The Stormwater Management Act of 2007 opened a new chapter, setting Environmental Site Design (ESD) as the new standard for development. Bill 40-10 begins the process of writing the new standards into existing county code. Kudos to the County Exec for continuing to apply thesame stormwater volume standards to both new development and redevelopment projects. But some other parts of the code revision must be strengthened—now, before approval. 

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