ADVOCACY CENTER
Take action for our river.
Your voice is needed now to help curb the largest source of pollution in the Charles River!
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a draft permit that could dramatically reduce stormwater pollution in the Charles River coming from large properties with expansive paved surfaces. The draft permit would require private properties with an acre or more of "impervious surfaces" to implement measures to reduce stormwater runoff such as creating rain gardens or underground infiltration systems.
This draft permit is critical to improving water quality and minimizing the biggest source of pollution in the Charles, but it is not set in stone! Supportive comments are needed before March 17 to get this draft permit across the finish line.
What you can do:
CRWA has drafted comments that you can submit to EPA to support the draft permit:
Click here to be taken to the EPA comments page.
Copy and paste the comments provided below into the comment section.
Fill in where it reads [name] and [city/town] with your information.
Personalize the message as you see fit.
Complete the "Tell us about yourself!" section and submit.
Alternatively, you can email the comments to R1.RDA@epa.gov, including “Comments on the Preliminary Designation and/or Draft CII GP” in the subject line.
Comments:
Dear Dr. Schifman:
I write to demonstrate my strong support for the draft general permit for private commercial, industrial, and institutional stormwater discharges in the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset River watersheds (the “CII GP”) and urge EPA to move expeditiously to issue a final permit. As a resident of the Charles River watershed [and recreational user of the Charles River and its tributaries], I am deeply concerned about the negative impacts on local water quality caused by unregulated stormwater flowing untreated off of private properties with large impervious areas.
Stormwater runoff carries high levels of phosphorus pollution into the Charles River and its tributaries, causing excessive algae and aquatic plant growth, including toxic algal blooms. This negatively impacts the river, harms aquatic life, and impairs recreational uses of the river, including boating, swimming, and fishing. Stormwater runoff also contributes to and exacerbates local flooding.
As a resident of [city/town], I am also concerned about the disproportionate burden these properties currently place on municipalities, which are required under a separate stormwater permit to significantly reduce stormwater pollution within their boundaries. EPA’s draft CII GP places common sense requirements on these large impervious sites, similar to what local governments have been required to do for years. These private properties should be responsible for addressing their own stormwater pollution, which will significantly reduce costs for [city/town], help mitigate local flooding, and improve water quality and climate resilience in our community.
Sincerely,
[name]
[city/town]
