Mary Ann Rossi, Esquire

The recent severe rainstorms in our area highlight the importance of regulations to control storm water runoff. Storm water runoff is water from rain or snowmelt that flows off of impervious surfaces, such as paved areas and roofs or from otherwise porous surfaces, such as lawn areas, that cannot absorb any more water (most recently due to saturation). The storm water runs off such surfaces and eventually into a receiving body of water. Along the way, the water running off can pick up debris, sediment, organic material and more, some of which may pollute the receiving body of water.

Pennsylvania law has long regulated storm water runoff. The most general proposition of common law is that lower lying lands must take the runoff from reasonable use of higher lands. The higher landowner cannot, however, collect and direct storm water to lower lands at a rate greater than prior to development and cannot bring the water to one point and deposit it in a concentrated form onto the lower lands. This general rule is consistent with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Act.

Pennsylvania DEP Ready to Adopt Best Management Practices
Recently, the regulation of storm water has become more stringent by focusing on quality and quantity of the water as well as the rate at which it flows. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is poised to adopt the Pennsylvania Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual. The guidelines will require that storm water management plans use best management practices to control the volume, rate, and water quality of post construction storm water runoff.

Best Management Practices, or BMPs, are structural devices or nonstructural practices that are installed before or during construction to prevent pollutants from entering surface or ground waters or to direct the flow of water. The types of BMPs include: vegetative stabilization; structural controls, such as siltation fences and hay bales; storm water management facilities, such as basins; site management to keep the site clean; and proper site planning. A variety of BMPs may be used at a site to provide the optimal control of runoff. One of the most favored BMPs currently is subsurface infiltration to recharge the ground water at a site to prevent excess runoff from surface areas. This is not always feasible in Chester County due to our carbonate geology in some areas where infiltration could promote the creation of sinkholes.

Storm water runoff is a widespread problem and is therefore the subject of regulations at every level of our government. The Federal Clean Water Act is administered on the national level by the Environmental Protection Agency. Pennsylvania regulations include the Clean Streams Law, the Stormwater Management Act, and the 2002: PA Comprehensive Storm Water Management Policy. At the local level, the Chester County Conservation District deals with erosion and sedimentation control. In 2005, the Chester County Water Resources Authority issued a Post Construction Stormwater Management Model Ordinance, which is designed to implement the goals and objectives stated in their publication, titled Watersheds, through municipal ordinances. Virtually every municipality has a storm water management ordinance, but the recent emphasis by the EPA on quality control has caused many to revise their existing ordinances to reflect a greater emphasis on storm water quality and BMPs.

The control of the rate, volume, and quality of storm water runoff should result in improvements to the water quality of our streams and creeks and, hopefully, decrease the amount of uncontrolled surface water that can worsen flooding and erosion. The impact of this increased regulation is not, however, likely to be noticeable in the short term.

MacElree Harvey
17 West Miner Street
Post Office Box 660
West Chester, PA 19381–0660
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