CLF Seeks Restrictions on Long Creek Stormwater Pollution: Runoff From Existing Urban Development Threatening Water Quality

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Colin Durrant, CLF Director of Communications
617-850-1722

Brunswick, ME (March 10, 2008) – A Maine environmental law group today asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to start regulating urban stormwater discharges that are polluting Long Creek in South Portland, Maine. Long Creek is a tributary of the Fore River which flows into Casco Bay, and has consistently failed the state’s lowest water quality standards.

In a petition sent to the EPA’s New England Regional Administrator, the Conservation Law Foundation asked the federal agency to curb Long Creek’s pollution problem by requiring existing developments – including the Maine Mall area, big box stores, theaters, car dealerships, hotels, and restaurants – to install storm water treatment and begin using best management practices.

“Urban stormwater pollution is now the number one threat to Maine’s waters,” said CLF VP and Maine Advocacy Center Director, Sean Mahoney. “We are losing more and more of our small coastal streams to a sea of pavement and poorly planned, unregulated development. This petition will require developers to take responsibility for the pollution their projects create.”

Under the Clean Water Act, EPA and state agencies must regulate stormwater discharges that contribute to violations of state water quality standards. Long Creek is in violation of basic water quality standards for dissolved oxygen levels, pollution from heavy metals and toxins, and loss of aquatic life, including the disappearance of native Brook Trout.

According to recently released studies by the EPA and Maine DEP, the sole source of this pollution is stormwater runoff from existing urban development. During rain storms, water flows off buildings, parking lots and other paved areas picking up toxins and chemicals along the way. The polluted water eventually gets dumped directly into neighboring rivers and streams from storm drains. Along the Long Creek, there are no permits regulating the pollution that flows from industrial or municipal sources.

“Urban stormwater pollution is every bit as deadly as industrial waste,” said Steve Hinchman, CLF staff attorney. “Water sampling taken during storm events found levels of toxic and heavy metals in Long Creek that exceed EPA criteria for acute toxicity, and sediment samples are as much as 50,000 times higher than that. If this was a factory, EPA would have to shut it down.”

“The EPA and state agencies have understood this problem for years, but have failed to require developers to control their pollution,” added Hinchman. “That’s why Congress added provisions in the Clean Water Act that let citizens groups like ours petition for a determination that permits must be required.”

Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, EPA must respond to the petition within 90 days. This decision, however, only regards the extent of federal permitting jurisdiction. Once a determination is made, all properties that discharge stormwater pollution would then have to apply for a federal permit.

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The Conservation Law Foundation works to solve the environmental problems that threaten the people, natural resources and communities of New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to design and implement strategies that conserve natural resources, protect public health, and promote vital communities in our region. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. It has offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Concord, New Hampshire; Providence, Rhode Island; Montpelier, Vermont; and Brunswick, Maine.