THE NOR’EASTER
NORTHEAST CHAPTER IECA NEWSLETTER
June 2010
ANNUAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mark you calendars now and plan to attend the Northeast Chapter’s Annual Conference at the Grappone Center in Concord, New Hampshire. The conference dates are November 30 through December 2, 2010. More detailed information will be available soon on the chapter website.
A couple of other events are in the planning stages as well. An erosion and sediment control field day, also to be held in Concord, New Hampshire, is set for Thursday, July 15. The Northeast Chapter is also co-sponsoring an erosion control workshop to be held in Elmira, New York on November 4, 2010. Stay tuned for updates!
EFFLUENT GUIDELINES ISSUED FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced tough new standards for controlling the quality of stormwater discharges from construction sites. The new rules take aim at the harmful effects of disturbed soil being transported to water bodies. Beginning on August 1, 2011, construction sites of 20 or more acres will be required to collect samples of stormwater discharges and comply with a numeric turbidity limitation. On February 2, 2014 the new rules will apply to all sites of 10 acres or more.
These new rules will have a significant impact on construction site management, as designers, contractors and owners will be required to implement proactive programs for jobsite dewatering.
LONG CREEK RESTORATION PROJECT UNDER WAY
The Long Creek Watershed, located in the Portland, Maine area, represents a first in the nation effort to address stormwater impacts through a cooperative effort between the private and public market sectors.
Construction and retrofitting of stormwater systems has begun. In this highly developed area, impervious surfaces have caused unacceptable levels of pollutants and silt to flow into adjacent streams and ultimately into Casco Bay.
The significance of this project cannot be overstated. In effect, existing development can now be held accountable for its impacts on water quality.
IECA SAYS GOODBYE TO A DEAR FRIEND
By Pete Hanrahan, CPESC
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Alfred Tsuguo Nitta, CPESC, who will certainly be remembered as one of our organization’s most treasured members. Al passed away on May 31, 2010, on the same family ranch in California where he was born in 1923.
Al and I met for the first time in 2000, at the IECA Annual Conference in Palm Springs, California. Our meeting took place at a speaker’s breakfast, and I was honored to learn that Al would moderate the session I was leading that day.
During our time together I learned at Al was a veteran of World War II. I also learned that as Japanese Americans, Al’s family members, along with 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese, were forced to live in internment camps during the war. I was deeply moved that Al held no bitterness and in fact was fiercely patriotic. I learned later that Al’s U. S. Army unit, the Japanese-American 442nd Combat Team, was very highly decorated and took part in five major battle campaigns in the European Theater.
This humble and soft-spoken man joined the IECA in 1977. On February 19, 2008, Al received the Contractor of the Year Award at the IECA National Conference in Orlando, Florida. His contributions to our industry were many, and in fact he earned a conservation award from his local Soil Conservation District in California in 1967, five years before the IECA was founded.
I think it is very fitting that this great American passed away on Memorial Day. May he rest in peace, and may his contributions to our country and to our industry live on forever.
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