Volume 24, Number 9 ● August 2, 2016
In This Issue
Stormwater/E&S and Wetland Permit Fines Increase to $51,570 per Day
Notice: Corps' MDSPGP-4 Authorization Expiring For Most Maryland Projects on September 30, 2016
Project Spotlight: Thunderbird Archeology Excavates Historic D.C. Cemetery
Fairfax County Floodplain Studies May No Longer Be Valid – New RPA Plans Affected
Stormwater/E&S and Wetland Permit Fines Increase to $51,570 per Day
The financial penalties charged by Federal Agencies are increasing drastically, due to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, which is designed to ensure that federal agencies regularly increase their civil penalties in line with inflation and thus maintain the penalties' preventive effect. The Inflation Act requires agencies to (1) implement a “catch up” adjustment to monetary penalties and (2) annually update the fees accounting for inflation. The “catch up” increases and inflation adjustments are based on specifications from the Executive Office of Management and Budget as outlined in the Inflation Act.
Notice: Corps' MDSPGP-4 Authorization Expiring For Most Maryland Projects on September 30, 2016
Wetland mitigation offsets impacts in the Severn River watershed.
The Maryland State Programmatic General Permit -4, or MDSPGP-4, which is used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to authorize most wetland and stream impacts in Maryland, is set to expire on September 30, 2016. While the permit will be replaced with the MDSPGP-5, projects currently authorized under the MDSPGP-4 are not automatically re-authorized by the MDSPGP-5, even if the project qualifies for authorization under the MDSPGP-5.
Project Spotlight: Thunderbird Archeology Excavates Historic D.C. Cemetery
Intact burial discovered and later disinterred by WSSI archeologists.
In advance of redevelopment of the ±0.52 acre Israel Senior Residences Housing Site, an affordable residential development for seniors, Thunderbird Archeology, a division of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), was contracted to confirm the completeness of the 1960 mass disinterment project and remove any human remains that might still be present. The project site is located southeast of the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue NE and Washington Place NE in Washington, D.C.
Fairfax County Floodplain Studies May No Longer Be Valid –
New RPA Plans Affected
Since 2004, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been updating precipitation frequency estimates across the country, which is utilized by a common method of hydrologic analysis developed by the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Since this updated precipitation frequency data can result in larger 100-year peak discharges, this can result in higher flood elevations that might render previously approved floodplain studies invalid. Fairfax County has issued a Technical Bulletin to address how the updated data affects the validity of previously approved floodplain studies and Resource Protection Area (RPA) plans that have a mapped floodplain component.
Aspiring Scientists and Engineers Visit WSSI
Young Scholars learning about Low Impact Development on WSSI's green roof.
Throughout the year, WSSI opens its doors to the public to give an up close and personal look at our sustainably built facility and to show what goes on behind our walls on a day to day basis. Just recently, two different youth organizations toured our office for a day of education: The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment and Fairfax County Public Schools' Young Scholars program.