Trussville City Council looks to revamp stormwater ordinances

The Trussville City Council is looking to repeal and replace its stormwater ordinances. Stormwater drain photo by KOMU News/Flickr Commons.

The Trussville City Council met Tuesday, May 8, to discuss the city’s need to repeal their current stormwater ordinances and establish new ones, the Trussville Tribune reports.

Stormwater Ordinance

The stormwater ordinance encompasses post-construction runoff, erosion control and illicit discharge.

“Back in January, we were issued our new stormwater permit,” said David Arnett, City of Trussville Inspections Department Manager. “The permit mandates the city to pass three ordinances. Storm Water Management Authority (SWMA) is in the process of getting model ordinances for all the cities that are a part of SWMA.”

According to the SWMA website, cities are responsible for parts of the stormwater system that are in city-maintained street right-of-way, as well as permanent storm water easements.

Stormwater occurs after a rainfall — water passes over roofs, streets, parking lots and other land surfaces, picking up pollutants such as oil, chemicals, pesticides, and eroded soil along the way. Any pollutants that are directed into the stormwater drainage system bypass any treatment and flows directly into waterways, such as the Cahaba River, and to those downstream.

This, in turn, creates hazards for people, wildlife, and the environment.

“The former mayor of Trussville was the president of SWMA at the time, he wanted Trussville to cross the finish line first,” Arnett said. “The Alabama Department Environmental Management (ADEM) permit was basically for SWMA, it encompassed all of the cities. About a year ago ADEM decided to split up the permits. We were first and got ours completed, and we laid what department was responsible and requirements. It mandates a whole new accounting system, including managing inspections.”

Arnett mentioned that the city has these required ordinances in place, but that they need updating.

“We are just repealing the ordinances we have and replacing them with what the permit now requires,” he said.

The difference between these ordinances are as follows:

1. Illicit Discharge (non-storm water discharge) — the new ordinance directs the city on how to enforce illicit discharge, defines illicit discharge, and adds more structure to illicit discharge.
2. Post-construction — the ordinance will define how the city manages retention and detention ponds after construction and how the city manages storm water. This will place more requirements on the engineers and contractors to annually provide documentation for management of ponds.
3. Erosion and Sediment Control — This will dictate how the city will control construction sites, how to control storm water, permits, and fees.

Protecting stormwater quality, keeping waterways such as the Cahaba River healthy, and preserving wildlife habitats is a mission the Cahaba River Society shares.

“We believe the communities along the Cahaba River can grow and be economically healthy and that we can restore and protect the river,” said Beth Stewart, the Cahaba River Society’s executive director. “We think that from the past actions in Trussville, you believe that too. We would really like to continue to work with the city towards that goal.”

Stewart said that the city’s current ordinances in place will not help with these goals.

“We think that the permits provide opportunity to achieve that and will address many of the city’s goals and needs, but the ordinance before you now does not get us there,” she said. “Although there is a deadline, we would like to for the city to take the time to get it right and we would like to help you with some recommendations.”

Some of the specific areas Stewart addressed were the banks of the river eroding.

“This is because there is just so much more volume of runoff, not the pollutants in the runoff, but the shear volume of the runoff,” she said. “The river itself is eroding and the banks are eroding. You saw how dramatic that project had to be on the Cahaba there below Cherokee bridge and just how expensive it was to the city to repair a problem caused by development projects.”

Stewart said the Cahaba River Society is asking to see the ordinances make more space for green infrastructure, low-impact development, and practices used at the high school.

“We fear the ordinance in front of you now really focuses on outdated approaches,” she said. “They are important for flood management retention and detention ponds, but don’t address the bigger problem. What we want to propose in the ordinance are specifics outlined in the SWMA pro forma ordinance.”

Stewart shared a few of the Cahaba River Society’s recommendations to the ordinance including greener infrastructure, clarity for site plans and the approval process, and a developer checklist.

The council requested time to review the ordinances in question by the next council meeting on May 22.

Other Business

In other business, the Council:

• Passed an ordinance honoring City Clerk Lynn Porter
• Approved the minutes from April 24;
• Approved Resolution 2018-014 in support of 200th Anniversary planning committee;
• Approved an ordinance to rezone 112 Maple Avenue from R4 (Residential) to CP (Commercial Preferred);
• Approved Resolution 2018-015 to surplus police vehicles;
• Approved merit increases for both Park & Rec and the Fire Department;
• Approval to hire four seasonal lifeguards;
• Approval to hire two Park & Rec seasonal laborers;
• Approval of educational incentive for Johnathan “Nathan” Jones, plus 5%;
• Accepted the resignation of Sgt. Michael Bruce of the Trussville Police Department;
• Approval to hire three part-time circulation clerks for library;
• Approval of accounts payable and addendum; and
• Approval of Ordinance 2018-008, which is the updated nuisance ordinance.

The next Trussville City Council workshop will be held on May 17 at 5:30 p.m. The regular meeting will be held on May 22 at 6 p.m.