Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis Flinn, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone: (843) 958-4012

Email:   jflinn@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number: 3157

Date: September 3, 2010

Charleston County’s “Living Green” Episode – Stormwater: The Good, The Bad, The Runoff

         U.S. EPA Grant funds Charleston County’s pollution-reducing education programs

Viewers can watch the next episode of “Living Green,” Charleston County Government’s 30-minute green lifestyle TV show, in September. The show airs on channels WTAT Fox 24 and My TV Charleston each month.

This month’s topic is “Stormwater,” which was filmed at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division at Fort Johnson on James Island, and at Oak Terrace Preserve in North Charleston’s Park Circle neighborhood. Watch to learn more about Stormwater, its impacts on or coastal water system, and ways you can reduce pollution.

Featured guests in this episode of “Living Green” are:

• David Joyner, Natural Resources Agent, Clemson Extension Service

  • Learn what you can do to reduce stormwater pollution

• Andy Miller, Watershed Manager, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control-Bureau of Water

  • We all live in a watershed; find out where you fit in

• Joe Fersner, Project Manager, Woolpert Inc.

  • Did you know that stormwater is regulated federally, by state, and locally?

• Fred Holland, Ph.D., retired ecologist and Denise Sanger, Ph.D., S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and NOAA Hollings Marine Laboratory Center for Oceans and Human Health

  • Polluted stormwater affects recreation and seafood production

• Scott Stapleton, Ascot Earth Systems

  • Lean how you can use rain water to cover all of your household water needs

• Michael Horton, P.E., civil engineer with Davis and Floyd

  • Visit a green community that has incorporated a full stormwater management system

The next “Living Green” episode is scheduled to air on the following dates and times:

• Dates:

  • Saturdays, Sept. 11 – Saturday, Oct. 2

• Time/TV Channel:

  • 9-9:30 a.m. on WTAT FOX 24 (Comcast Channel 6)

  • 10:30-11 a.m. on My TV Charleston, WMMP (Comcast Channel 13)

The County’s show is funded through a $236,498 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) grant given for Charleston County’s continuing participation in its Project Impact Partnership Program, which aims to reduce local air and water pollution through public education programs.

“The TV show is part of an extensive educational campaign to provide information and assistance to our citizens on ways to reduce pollution and improve our air and water quality in order to protect the environment for future generations,” said Carl Simmons, Charleston County’s Building Inspection Service Department Director who oversees the County’s Project Impact program.

Guests and panelists appear on the show, including experts and scientists on the local, state and national level.

Viewers can also visit us online for more information or to view any of our shows.

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/carecommunityforum

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/CARE-Community-Forum/121743317854010

SIDEBAR: Background information on EPA’s CARE Grant and Charleston County’s Project Impact

• EPA’s award is part of EPA’s Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program, a community-based, community-driven program that builds partnerships to help the public understand and reduce toxic risks from numerous sources.

• Since the program was established three years ago, CARE has provided a total of $7.75 million to more than 49 communities nationwide. The Charleston County CARE project is one of just five awarded in the southeast region.

• The Charleston County’s Project Impact Partnership program was formed in 1999 with the help of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. There are now 172 local partnership members who focus on making the Charleston County communities more disaster resistant, including undertaking environmental improvement endeavors.

• Project partners previously conducted the Charleston Region Toxics Risk Assessment and identified particulate air pollution and ground level ozone as priority air toxics risks, and fecal coliform bacteria, petroleum product releases and trace metals as priority water pollutants in the Charleston County area. Through the CARE project, project partners aim to heighten local residents’ awareness of these air and water pollution sources and encourage actions that individuals can take to reduce pollution.

• Established in 2005, CARE is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for communities to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in their air, land and water. By joining forces, for-profit and non-profit organizations can work together to improve the environmental health of a community and its residents.

Visit the EPA CARE Web site at www.epa.gov/care or Charleston County’s web site http://www.charlestoncounty.org/Departments/BuildingServices/care.htm to learn more about the CARE program.

To schedule a presentation on environmental quality and pollution issues, local groups can contact Charleston County Government’s Building Inspections Department at (843) 202-6940.