Some states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are falling behind in reviewing permits designed to curb stormwater pollution, according to Environmental Protection Agency reports.

Stormwater is the fastest growing source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.  It is a serious problem because so much soft  ground with plant cover that once absorbed and filtered pollution out of rainwater has been covered by hard surfaces such as roads, roofs and parking lots.  These impervious surfaces prevent rainwater from being absorbed into the ground.   Instead, it runs into the streams and rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay.

In order to control the environmental impact of stormwater, the Environmental Protection Agency set up a permitting program to regulate stormwater runoff called  the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).  Permits issued under this program control facilities whose discharges go directly into lakes, rivers and streams from identifiable agricultural, domestic or industrial sources.  For example, runoff from municipal sewage treatment facilities and construction sites are both regulated by NPDES permits.

Many states in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed are behind in updating the permits that control what kind of discharges and how much of them a facility or company can allow to run off a work site and into waterways.

After the state issues a NPDES permit, it is good for five years.  At the end of that five-year period, (180 days before its permit expires) a facility must apply to have its permit renewed.   When a complete application for renewal is received, but not officially re-issued by a permitting authority, it becomes “administratively continued.”  Put simply, the permit becomes backlogged (this can also include facilities waiting for their first NPDES permit).

The EPA measures how effectively states keep up with backlogged permits by tracking their “percent current rates,”  which is the number of facilities with current permits divided by the total number of facilities.

Facilities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that release one million gallons of runoff per day, individual major permit holders, and those that do not produce as much runoff, individual minor permit holders, both have 90 percent current goals.

Virginia has the highest percent current rates in the bay watershed.  Its rate for major permits is 99.3% and 98.3% for minor permit holders.  EPA reports indicate that West Virginia has the lowest percent current rate for minor permit holders, at 56.3%.  It show s that Delaware, at 65%, and Maryland, at 69.5%, have the lowest percent current rates for major permit holders in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Overall, none of the percent current rates fall below 50% for states in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  Most percent current rates for both major and minor permit holders are between 70 and 90%, leaving an estimated 20-30% that are backlogged or “administratively continued.”