By DOUG NURSE
Nov. 22, 2000 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)—Gwinnett County officials are proposing some changes to stormwater regulations that they say are better for the environment while giving developers more options.
"These rules will be more protective of the water in Gwinnett County," said Jim Scarbrough, deputy director for planning, permitting and storm water for the county. "We're trying to do a better job of protecting streams. We're tightening up on new development, but we're giving them flexibility about the business decisions (on) how to meet the requirements."
County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the measure on Nov. 28.
Rather than require developers to just build detention ponds, the county is considering using the bottom line of containing how much pollution is coming off a piece of property.
Under the new regulations, a developer would be limited to 850 pounds of total suspended solids per acre per year, a scientific standard that measures amounts of pollutants, such as phosphorous and heavy metals.
Developers would be allowed to use a variety of means to meet that standard, Scarbrough said. For example, they could expand their buffer, enlarge detention ponds, reduce impervious surface, or combine these and other techniques to reduce runoff and slow it so that pollutants filter out naturally.
County Administrator Charlotte Nash said the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Community Affairs have tentatively endorsed the concept.
The county also is proposing expanding the Big Haynes Creek buffer standard to the Alcovy River basin.
"We're the headwaters for a lot of rivers and streams," Nash said. "What we do affects people downstream. And we're hoping that people who are upstream from Gwinnett will think of us, too."
Under current development regulations, developers within seven miles of Black Shoals reservoir in Rockdale County must leave 100 feet of buffer at rivers and streams tied to Big Haynes Creek.
Rockdale dammed Big Haynes to develop the reservoir, which will be the county's water supply.
Beyond the seven-mile threshold, projects must leave 50 feet of buffer. Otherwise, the buffer is 25 feet.
Developers were generally supportive of the changes, although they argued against imposing the additional requirements to projects already under way, Nash said.
A concession by the county would allow them to continue to use large projectwide detention ponds rather than have to re-engineer their detention ponds.
The new regulations would apply to redevelopment projects, Scarbrough said.
The one potential sticking point could be whether cities will adopt the county's new regulations, said Commissioner Tommy Hughes.
"It doesn't do any good for us to do this if they're not going to," he said. "If you look at the land in the cities, it's a good bit of land."
He also voiced concern that if the cities fail to adopt the new regulations, then developers will try to annex into cities to escape the county's stormwater rules.
Nash said the state likely would have to get involved if cities balk at adopting the rules.
Copyright 2000 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
