July 2006 Issue

8th Annual EPA Region 6 MS4 Operator’s Conference
San Antonio, Texas – June 26-30, 2006

The EPA MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) Operators Conference was held last week and attendance was excellent; in fact, it was the largest crowd ever at an MS4 conference. The conference formally got underway on Tuesday, June 27 with some plenary sessions followed by four tracks of break-out sessions. In a state breakout session, David Waterstreet, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) storm water team leader, gave an update on the TCEQ storm water permits and informed the group that the Phase II storm water permit for small cities will not likely be issued until late August or September of this year. Other breakout sessions covered a diverse range of topics. The North Central Texas region was represented by four speakers. Howard Redfearn, City of Mansfield, spoke about web design tips, tricks & pitfalls. Ken Banks, City of Denton, spoke about funding storm water utilities via the Denton approach. TCEQ had asked NCTCOG to cover a basic regulatory session on the six minimum control measures (MCMs). These two 1-hour sessions, led by Keith Kennedy, NCTCOG Manager of Environment and Development, included a comparison of the draft Texas permit MCMs with those of the other Region 6 states. The presentation also covered ways to implement the MCMs using regional and local examples. Dr. James Caffey co-presented with Keith to give various tips and insights from his past experiences both as a storm water manager for the City of Arlington and as a private consultant assisting cities with their programs. He also gave a detailed overview of the integrated Storm Water Management (iSWM) program.

Thursday afternoon was reserved for field trips and attendees chose from: insights on the Edwards Aquifer and its caves, San Antonio flood control and canal system, storm water management on Brooks City-Base, or water quality management at Sea World. The awards banquet was held that night at Don Strange Ranch. The last day concluded with a discussion of current legislative cases associated with storm water by EPA’s attorney, David Gillespie and an orientation to a manual on guidance for municipal funding by National Association of Flood and Storm Water Management Agencies (NAFSMA’s) Scott Tucker.

Next year’s conference will be held June 18-23, 2007 in Rogers, Arkansas.

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