To help small municipalities and parishes comply with Phase II Urban Stormwater Permit renewal, LSU AgCenter in conjunction with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is conducting one-day workshops at three locations in Louisiana.

The Phase II permit renewal, which was required on January 1, 2008, mandates that local governments have all six program areas in place and working, said Dr. Rod Hendrick, a water quality specialist in the LSU AgCenter’s W.A. Callegari Environmental Center.

“Both EPA and LDEQ are becoming more active in the enforcement of these permits,” Hendrick said.

“The first workshop was held March 17 in Baton Rouge and was considered very helpful by the attendees,” he added. “The second workshop will be held April 9 at the Convention Center in Alexandria, and the third will held May 15 in Shreveport.”

The workshops cover how to develop and implement the plan and required activities for each of six program areas – public education and outreach, public involvement and participation, illicit discharge identification and elimination, pollution prevention and good housekeeping, construction stormwater management and post-construction stormwater management.

“All of these elements have to be incorporated into an overall stormwater management plan,” Hendrick said. “There will also be a session on developing the plan and how to prepare the annual report.

Workshop presenters will include Thea Lomax, EPA Region 6 enforcement supervisor for Louisiana and Oklahoma with inside information from the program developers, Ron Gray from LDEQ and Hendrick.

Cost of the workshop is $150, which includes a workbook, CD of information, lunch and breaks. Registration is possible by phone to Val Johnson at 225-578-6998 or by e-mail by visiting the LSU AgCenter Web site at: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/environment/water_issues/quality/Workshops/

More information on the workshop is available by calling Hendrick at 225-578-6998.

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Contact: Rod Hendrick at (225) 578-6998 or rhendrick@agcenter.lsu.edu

Writer: Rick Bogren at (225) 578-5839 or rbogren@agcenter.lsu.edu