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From plan to practice: Implementing watershed‐based strategies into local, state, and federal policy
Author(s) -
Jones Alice L.,
Gordon Steven I.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620190445
Subject(s) - watershed , clean water act , surface runoff , watershed management , storm , environmental planning , nonpoint source pollution , stormwater , politics , water quality , enforcement , environmental resource management , water resource management , business , environmental science , geography , political science , ecology , law , computer science , machine learning , meteorology , biology
Planners are becoming increasingly interested in watershed‐based plans as a way to more accurately reflect the natural landscape processes that cross the borders of political jurisdictions. Although developing plans that cross political boundaries is a relatively simple matter, establishing the transboundary authority necessary to implement such plans is often a much different matter. We investigated the regulatory mechanisms under which a watershed‐based storm‐water management plan could be implemented in the Big Darby Creek, Ohio, USA, a national scenic river currently facing critical threats from nonpoint sediment‐ and pollutant‐loaded storm‐water runoff in the rapidly urbanizing portions of the watershed. The watershed encompasses portions of 7 counties, 11 incorporated areas, and 26 townships, each of which has some authority over land use and storm water. The transboundary options explored include creation of a storm‐water utility, creating a conservancy district, or an independent approach requiring all jurisdictions in the watershed to simultaneously adopt a series of storm‐water ordinances. We evaluated these options on a number of characteristics, including their relative ability to control runoff quality and quantity, the locus of political control and enforcement authority under each, funding considerations, and the likelihood of acceptance given the region's existing political realities. Although a central authority such as a conservancy district or storm‐water management district would likely be most effective in protecting water quality, the long tradition of local controls on land use makes this politically infeasible. Thus, we argue that a watershed‐based protection plan for the Darby region will require the simultaneous independent approach. The case study of the Big Darby suggests that the successful implementation of watershed‐based plans may be more dependent on the plan's political savvy than its technical superiority.