TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 2014
COMMITTEE ON STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Mr. David St. Pierre, Executive Director
Title
Report on Watershed Management Ordinance, Update on Ordinance Administration Progress
Body
Dear Sir:
On October 3, 2013, the Board of Commissioners adopted the District's new Watershed Management Ordinance (WMO), which establishes uniform, minimum, countywide stormwater management regulations for new development and redevelopment throughout Cook County. Components regulated under the WMO include drainage and detention, volume control, floodplain management, isolated wetland protection, riparian environment protection, and soil erosion and sediment control. The WMO went into effect on May 1, 2014 and the District's Board of Commissioners most recently amended the WMO on July 10, 2014.
The Engineering Department's Local Sewer Systems Section administers the WMO through review and approval of permit applications. Proposed developments on the WMO's Existing Development Plans List (WMO-EDPL) are subject to the provisions of the Legacy Sewer Permit Ordinance and Manual of Procedures (SPO). Below is a summary of total permit applications processed during this transition year, as of November 1, 2014:
WMO permit applications processed in 2014:
· 104 received
· 61 issued
SPO permit applications processed in 2014:
· 297 received, of which 99 are subject to WMO-EDPL
· 310 issued (including prior year applications), of which 68 are subject to WMO-EDPL
Article 14 of the WMO allows local municipalities to become authorized to administer aspects of the WMO. An executed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between a municipality and the District effectuates the municipality's status as an authorized municipality. Such municipalities are referred to as authorized municipalities. Municipalities interested in authorization must execute an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the municipality and the District. The following is a summary of IGAs for Authorized Municipalities processed by the Engineering Department's Local Sewer Systems Section this year, as of November 1, 2014:
· Authorized Municipality IGAs Negotiated: 9
· Authorized Municipality IGAs Executed: 5
Article 2 of the WMO allows local municipalities with corporate boundaries within Cook County and an adjacent county to adopt and enforce the ordinance of the adjacent county in lieu of the WMO. The following is a summary of IGAs for Multi-County Municipalities processed by the Engineering Department's Local Sewer Systems Section this year, as of November 1, 2014:
· Multi-County Municipality IGAs Negotiated: 6
· Multi-County Municipality IGAs Executed: 2
The Technical Guidance Manual (TGM) was developed by the District in conjunction with the WMO to provide a useful resource to promote efficient and consistent permit submittals. In addition, a number of compliance resources were developed, all of which are available for download from the District website at wmo.mwrd.org. To streamline and ease the permitting process during the transition to the new ordinance, a series of 13 training events were hosted by the District to educate and inform municipal representatives and design engineers on the WMO, the District's permitting process, and how best to achieve compliant construction. Training events will continue in 2015.
Respectfully Submitted, Catherine A. O'Connor, Director of Engineering, WSS:JPM