On November 28 the WCIECA hosted a seminar/field trip in Tempe, AZ to increase awareness of National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II changes coming in 2003. The seminar was well attended with over 165 learning

the changes that will be coming from both the EPA and from the State and local regulating authorities.

The keynote speaker from the seminar was John Kosco. John currently works as a water resource engineer for a private company, but he was previously with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he was one of the primary authors of the NPDES Phase II regulations. His talk was an overview of regulations leading up to Phase II. He continued his talk on how Phase II will effect the smaller Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities and construction sites under 5 acres.

Tom Huetteman followed John Kosco's talk. Tom is currently the EPA Chief of the Clean Water Act Compliance Office for Region 9, which includes Arizona. Tom expanded on John's talk and explained what a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is, why it is needed, why it needs to be site specific, and finished his talk on the fines and penalties for non-compliance of the NPDES permit.

Michele Robertson was the next speaker. Michele is the manager of the water Permits section of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. She is currently working to develop rules and other components of Arizona's implementation plans for the NPDES Phase II program at the State level. Her talk gave the audience information of the transition from being an EPA regulated State to a State run NPDES program. The goal is to present the application on January 2, 2002 for review and to be a State ran program by July 1, 2002.

Todd Williams' presentation followed and added to Michele's on the future of Arizona in the State run program. Todd is the Water Quality Program Coordinator for the Maricopa County Flood Control District. He directs the storm water monitoring for Phase I cities and is in the process of coordinating a regional watershed approach to addressing storm water quality issues for Phase I and Phase II municipalities. Todd was able to take his talk to the next level as far as where the municipalities will need to be as the NPDES program moves to a State ran program.

The final speaker was Rob Anderson. Rob is a principal in a law firm in Arizona where he practices in the area of environmental and water law. His talk was very direct and to the point, we need to comply because it is the law. Rob gave a very informative talk discussing the requirements to be in compliance with the NPDES permit and the penalties for non-compliance. His talk also addressed the need to use caution when hiring a consultant. Sometimes the information they give you may be wrong and you are left paying the fine.

After the speakers finished their presentations, there was an open forum for questions and answers, which concluded the seminar portion of the program. A box lunch was waiting and those going on the field tour were loaded onto buses for a road trip north on State Route 87 towards Payson. About 100 attendees went on the field trip to learn about the expansion and re-alignment of State Route 87. This project was a joint venture between Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Tonto National Forest.

The USDA Forest Service was heavily involved because the majority of the State Route 87 project was in the heart of the Tonto National Forest. The goal was to produce a functional road while maintaining the scenic views, preserving the geological formations, and protecting the ecosystems.

To achieve these goals, road alignments were avoided that would block scenic views, new rocks were painted to match the existing rocks, and the concrete used in bridges was colored to match the surrounding desert color. Cactus and trees were saved to plant back into the landscape and a seed mix of natural ground cover was used and planted right after the final grade of a slope was completed. They also used guardrails that would rust on the surface to avoid the shiny galvanized look, and they even roughened the interior surfaces of box culverts for bat habitat.

The project earned the FHWA Environmental Award for 1999 because it addressed and protected the natural environment. The State Route 87 project was so successful that it has become the standard for all future road ways designs in the Tonto National Forest, and for those taking the tour it was easy to see why.

The day finished with a dinner. For those who attended, it was an opportunity to meet with several of the speakers and the opportunity to network with other attendees.

The Western Chapter sponsored David Watson for both days of this event and gave him the opportunity to interview the speakers and any individuals who's company are currently providing training in the area of erosion and sediment control to youth groups. David is the youngest member of IECA and the IECA Student Resources Editor.

November 29 was set for Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) training, which approximately 80 individuals attended. The instructors for this training were Carol Forest and Michael Harding. They donated their time to conduct this training and from the turnout, it appears that there is a real hunger for more knowledge in the area of erosion and sediment control in Arizona.

WCIECA appreciates the efforts of Lou Snow and Barbara Beatty of Dust Pro for their help in organizing this event and to Carol Forest and Michael Harding for donating their time to conduct the CPESC training.

Michael Chase

Dear Western Chapter Members:

We extend a warm welcome to new Board member Peter McRae, who replaces Angelo Pecorilla, Board member at large, until elections take place in July. Our Board thanks Angelo for his past participation and input. Those who know Angelo have always appreciated his candor. Peter was runner-up from our last election and promises to actively participate on the Board. He is President of Quattro Environmental, a materials supplier of erosion control products and soil amendments.

We recently held our second regional conference in Phoenix, Arizona (see accompanying article). Many thanks to those folks involved in organizing the meetings, including Board members Claudia Chambers and Mike Chase, Western Chapter member Lou Snow, and Barb Beatty of Dust Pro. Also greatly appreciated were the excellent field tour and associated handouts prepared by the Forest Service and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Our third regional conference will be held at the Embassy Suites, April 17-19 2002, in San Rafael, California. The conference begins on Wednesday with a CPESC tutorial, followed by the opening and technical sessions on Thursday morning. Field trips are scheduled for Thursday afternoon to examine and evaluate local erosion control and water quality projects. The technical sessions continue on Friday morning. Our Board meeting will take place Friday afternoon and as always it is open to all those interested. The CPESC exam will also be held some time during the three-day period. The theme for the conference is Monitoring for Success, but papers will also cover additional topics. Some of the monitoring topics to be addressed include the water quality monitoring program at Lake Tahoe, methodologies and approaches to monitoring erosion control projects, monitoring of river restoration projects, and monitoring of soil biology. These and other papers will attempt to define success, which varies with project objectives.

Our next field tour will take place in Lake Tahoe during the summer of 2002. As in past field trips, we will be traveling in vans around the Lake to visit erosion control projects in both California and Nevada. Please contact us if you are interested in participating.

Although Orlando, Florida is pretty far from our Western Chapter territory, a number of Chapter members will be attending the IECA's 33rd Annual Conference and Exposition February 25 - March 1, 2002. We have a room reserved for Thursday afternoon for our annual Chapter meeting. Join us.

We hope to see you at all three upcoming events.

Julie Etra, CPESC

Western Chapter IECA President

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2001 IECA Western Chapter Annual Report

December 22, 2001

The following is a summary of the 2001 activities of the IECA Western Chapter.

1. Logo
The Chapter is using a new Western Chapter logo that was developed in 1997 and modified in 2001 in keeping with the International logo.

2. Board and Chapter Meetings

The Chapter Board meets up to four times per year. In 2001, the Chapter met in Phoenix, AZ, Napa, and Las Vegas, NV. Minutes are issued after every meeting, and the meetings are summarized in the Western Chapter newsletter.

3. Second Regional Conference

The Western Chapter held its Second Regional Conference in Phoenix, AZ November 29th through December 1, 2001, in an effort to increase awareness of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II changes coming in 2003. The seminar was well attended with over 165 learning the changes that will be coming from both the EPA and from the State and local regulating authorities. About 100 attendees went on the field trip to learn about the expansion and re-alignment of State Route 87. This project was a joint venture between Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Tonto National Forest. The Conference was concluded with a CPESC tutorial, and followed by the exam.

4. Field Trip

The Chapter held an extremely successful field trip in the Napa Valley, July 2001. We examined erosion control methodologies as well as viticulture methodologies.

5. Membership

The Chapter has an active Membership Committee working with IECA to build membership. We continue to recruit IECA members in the Western Chapter area who are not Chapter members, and also to increase overall membership. This effort is being made through personal promotion by existing Chapter members, mailings of our newsletter, field tour notices, and other special mailings to encourage participation. A major effort was made at the Arizona conference to recruit new members from this region. The Membership Committee will follow up with the conference participants.

The Chapter newsletter was published three times in 2001, although future publications are scheduled for quarterly production. The newsletter is mailed to approximately 50 members, while the remaining membership receives it electronically. It is also posted on our Website. The newsletter includes regular items, such as a President"s Message and Calendar of Upcoming Events, as well as feature articles. Michael Mellon has recently been contracted to produce the newsletter as well as revise and update the Website.

7. Finances
The Chapter is doing well financially (see separately submitted financial statement). We have made money on all activities to date. We have contributed to the Rick Granard fund as well as the Scholarship fund.

We currently have seven active committees: membership, communications, conference, education (to be combined w/conference), inter-organization liaison, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada activities, and Contractor liaison.

9. Long-range Plan
We have updated our long-range strategic plan (old version attached). The revised plan, developed at our last Board meeting, and will be posted on our Website as soon as edits are conducted and approved by the Board.

Our Website continues to be updated. It currently includes links to Board members, by-laws, minutes, Chapter events, links to advertisers and the other organizations (including IECA, of course).

11. Host Chapter at 2001 Conference
The Western Chapter participated actively as the host chapter for the 2001 Las Vegas conference. Our activities related to the conference included providing the following:

• Western Chapter session monitors and moderators;
• Western Chapter speakers for papers, training courses, and special sessions;
• Western Chapter booth;
• Western Chapter t-shirts and hats;
• Western Chapter magnetic badges for all Chapter members;
• Two Western Chapter technical field tours;
• Western Chapter sponsored HydRodeo;
• Western Chapter sponsored post-HydRodeo party;
• Western Chapter sponsored Closing Session; and
• Western Chapter membership and Board meeting.

Several key Western Chapter members have been actively participating in some of the key IECA committees, including review of publications for the annual conference, and the newly formed Membership committee.

13. CPESC Council

Carol Forrest, CPESC Chair and WCIECA Vice President, provides updates to the program.

Looking Forward

The Western Chapter is sponsoring its Third Regional Conference, to be held in San Rafael, CA, April 17th-19th. The Conference will include a CPESC tutorial and exam technical sessions, field tours, a trade show, and hydrodeo. The theme is "Monitoring for Success."

The Western Chapter is sponsoring a summer field tour or erosion control projects in Lake Tahoe. The tour will include projects in Nevada and California.

Respectfully submitted,

Julie Etra, CPESC, IECA Western Chapter President

While the paperwork is being updated implementation of rainy season BMPs should begin by considering the following:

• Examine the schedule of construction activities and arrange to minimize exposed soil areas.
• Ensure that all non-active soil disturbed areas are protected.
• Prepare for rain events by having enough erosion control material on hand.
  

Consider the following soil stabilization BMPs for your site. Conditions for use may vary:

• Geotextiles, Mats/Plastic Covers And Erosion Control Blankets.
• Scheduling
• Preservation of Existing Vegetation
• Temporary Seeding and Planting
• Mulching
• Soil Stabilizers

Common Sediment Control BMPs

The following sediment control BMPs also require consideration:

• Check Dams
• Silt Fences
• Straw Bale Barrier
• Sand Bag Barrier
• Storm Drain Inlet Protection
• Sediment Basin
• Rolled fiber products

Make sure that you have an on-going BMP inspection and maintenance program in place.

Mel Mathews, C.P.E.S.C.