Stormwater Runoff Water Quality Science/Engineering Newsletter Devoted to Urban/Rural Stormwater Runoff Water Quality Management Issues

This issue of the Newsletter is devoted to a review of some of the issues that should be considered in developing a technically valid, cost-effective pollutant trading program. Pollutant trading issues will likely become important in regulating chemical constituents in urban stormwater runoff and agricultural stormwater runoff/discharges. Upon review of the US EPA’s pollutant trading policy discussed below, it is found that this policy does not necessarily incorporate the current science related to defining pollutants – i.e., those substances that impair the beneficial uses of waterbodies. The mechanical, non-technically-valid application of the US EPA’s pollutant trading policy, in which all constituents of a type, such as total phosphorus, are considered pollutants, could result in technically invalid pollutant trading programs, which will not achieve the desired improvement in water quality. Lee and Jones-Lee (1992, 1994, 1996) have previously reviewed issues that need to be incorporated into valid pollutant trading programs. A summary of key issues is presented below