OB Puts Off Discussion of Storm Water -- Board Expected to Vote Later This Month on Ordinance for Cleanup
Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 09:00 CDT
By Toni Lepeska lepeska@desotoappealcom
Olive Branch will soon adopt a storm water ordinance to help improve the quality of streams and area bodies of water.
The Board of Aldermen was scheduled to discuss the proposed ordinance at its Tuesday night meeting, but the matter was put off.
Alderman are seeing if adjustments need to be to made before the ordinance goes to a vote, which will probably be later in the month.
Storm water is rainwater that runs off the land, frequently carrying with it various forms of pollution, such as litter, sediment and dissolved chemicals.
"It's not just a silt-type ordinance," Mayor Sam Rikard said, who added about pollutants: "We're going to have to try to take efforts to clean that up before it gets in our streams."
Olive Branch and other cities in DeSoto County started developing storm water regulations per the federal government's nationwide mandate.
It was especially timely here because of the volume of construction. The City of Olive Branch alone issues about 600 residential housing construction permits a year, and additional ones for commercial structures.
The city requires certain environmental safeguards already, such as silt ponds and detention basins.
While the state Department of Environmental Quality oversees enforcement of developments greater than five acres, the new city ordinance would address smaller developments while not eliminating the possibility of the city regulating the larger ones.
Giving the city the enforcement authority increases the number of eyes on construction sites, residences and businesses that handle chemicals and products such as motor oil.
Among the ordinance violations would be pitching tree limbs into ditches and dumping lawn clippings, antifreeze and petroleum products into drains.
How often do environmentally unfriendly products get into the drains?
"We don't know," city engineer Steve Bigelow said. "I think it's isolated. Construction is the problem, the biggest concern we have."
The ordinance would establish penalties for violations. As presently proposed, violators would be subject to a fine up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail for each separate offense for each day of the violation.
- Toni Lepeska (901) 333-2015
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INSIDE
Water rates: Horn Lake increase expected.
DS5
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Source: Commercial Appeal, The
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