EPA targets water runoff

[YankeyMCC]

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The US Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce today that it will, for the first time, require some big-box stores, malls, and other businesses to reduce the amount of rainwater that runs off their roofs and parking lots. Federal officials will test the new policy in the Massachusetts towns of Milford, Bellingham, and Franklin.
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"Cities and towns are already investing a lot in storm water," said Ken Moraff, deputy director for ecosystem protection of the EPA's New England region. "These commercial facilities are missing pieces of the puzzle." The new regulations, he said, will help complete the cleanup effort.
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The EPA announcement comes on the heels of a National Academy of Sciences report released last month that faulted the agency for failing to protect the country's waterways from storm-water pollution.

"If you look across the country," said Thomas Ballestero, a professor of engineering and hydrology at the University of New Hampshire's Stormwater Center, "most of the big impairments to waterways are storm water related or can be traced back to storm water."

Ballestero noted that although municipalities are already regulated by the EPA, storm water from roadways and suburban subdivisions also contributes significantly to river pollution.
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/17/epa_targets_water_runoff/

Some good news.