Stormwater Management Initiatives at the University of North Carolina

Sharon A. Myers and Peter A. Reinhardt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Abstract:

In November 2000, North Carolina voters approved of a statewide capital bond issue to improve higher education facilities. Over $500M of those funds will be used at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). When other building and renovation plans are included, UNC plans over a billion dollars of construction this decade. Much of this construction involves science buildings and laboratories, including a new Science Complex that will house the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Marine Science and others.

To plan for this growth, UNC and the town of Chapel Hill in 2001 agreed upon a ten year Development Plan. That Plan included the ambitious goal of no net increase in campus stormwater runoff. To achieve this and prepare for our Phase II stormwater permit application in 2003, UNC has extensively studied current and future campus stormwater sources, infrastructure and impacts. In addition to the implementation of best management practices to improve water quality, UNC plans to invest in state-of-the-art structural controls for stormwater, such as porous pavement, storage/infiltration beds and vegetated roofs to reduce the rate and volume of stormwater runoff. This paper will describe our findings and plans to date.

Biography:

Sharon Myers is an Environmental Specialist at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has worked at UNC for over four years on a variety of environmental issues including hazardous waste management, hazardous material recycling, environmental auditing and stormwater management. Sharon is currently the convener of the Water Resources Task Group of the UNC Sustainability Coalition.

Prior to working at UNC, Sharon was a project manager for Superfund and hazardous waste soil and groundwater investigation and remediation projects. Sharon has a BS (University of Arkansas) and MS (University of Montana) in geology and is a Licensed Geologist in North Carolina. When not trying to improve water quality on the UNC campus, Sharon can be found biking when the roads are dry, and kayaking when the roads are wet.

Peter A. Reinhardt has been the Director of Environment, Health and Safety at the University of North Carolina since 2000. Prior to his arrival at Chapel Hill, he worked 21 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Safety Department, last serving as their Assistant Director for Chemical & Environmental Safety.

Mr. Reinhardt is a member of the American Chemical Society's Task Force on Laboratory Environmental Health and Safety, and the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Management Association's Government Relations Committee. He chairs the Waste Management Working Group of the National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards. He coauthored Hazardous Waste Management at Educational Institutions (1987) and Infectious and Medical Waste Management (1991), edited UW-Madison's Chemical Safety and Disposal Guide (1993), coedited Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization in Laboratories (1996), and contributed to Prudent Practices in the Laboratory (1995). He also coauthored a CSHEMA/APPA/NACUBO guide to environmental compliance at colleges and universities, now in press. Mr. Reinhardt has a B.S. in Biochemistry and an M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.