Climate Change, Stormwater Major Issues for N.E.

H. Curtis Spalding, EPA Region 1 administrator.By DAVE FISHER/ecoRI News staff

WARWICK — Last week, Curt Spalding, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England division, spoke to a group of about 50 professionals from the Rhode Island Society of Environmental Professionals (RISEP). RISEP membership includes engineering and environmental consulting firms, industry/manufacturing, academia, attorneys, government agencies and environmental technology businesses.

Spalding, a Rhode Island native and former Save The Bay executive director, said, “The two biggest threats to the environment in New England are climate change and stormwater management.”

Rhode Islander’s learned the hard way, back in March and April, that stormwater treatment and mitigation have to be addressed in all future and most current development.

“For too long, the EPA has been an organization that was concerned with the end of the pipe,” he said. “We know now that we have to start thinking about what is going into the system as well.” He also mentioned an upcoming investment by the Department of Energy, facilitated by the EPA, in Rhode Island's wastewater system, to increase efficiency and explore renewable energy installations in the state's wastewater treatment plants.

The EPA has done a pretty good job of controlling point-source pollution during the past 40 years, but hasn’t ever really addressed the mounting problem of nonpoint-source pollution. That, according to Spalding, is about to change. The National Research Council has been tasked with assessing the sustainability of every one of EPA’s programs.

Under national administrator Lisa Jackson, he said, “EPA is shifting its focus and is trying to have a more holistic view. Climate change is happening and we need to figure out how to adapt and mitigate.”

Adaptation is a necessary component to dealing with climate change. Infrastructure such as the Fox Point hurricane barrier may have to be reinforced to deal with more frequent and violent weather patterns. The Ocean State's coastal areas will have to adapt to sea level rise which, according to some studies, could be as much as 20 feet in the next few centuries. Keep in mind that for every foot that the ocean rises, the shoreline recedes 10 feet.

Stormwater management goes hand in hand with climate mitigation. For instance, increasing green cover and decreasing impervious surfaces in urban areas would mitigate what is known as the “heat island” effect, and slow stormwater runoff.

Spalding said the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will be a priority for his administration, because, “DEM division funding is at, or below, the level I’d like to see.”

 “All of this,” he said, “is a way for us to restore our green capital. That’s how we’re looking at it."

RISEP is a nonprofit organization that provides a collective voice for the environmental services sector in identifying key regulatory issues and reforms that affect industry and commerce, and provides technical expertise to the regulators and legislators for reviews and guidance.