<![CDATA[<P>76The Military Engineer l November-December l 2009
tal Design rating system, in which
low-impact design practices can be
awarded 4 to 8 points, or about 15
percent to 31 percent of the points
needed to obtain certi?cation.
• The U.S. Navy set a goal of no net
increase of stormwater volume and
sediment or nutrient loading from
major renovation and construction.
There has been disagreement be-
tween DOD and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) over how to
implement the requirements—no small
task considering Section 438 is to be
met to the maximum extent technical-
ly feasible, a phrase open to very broad
and different interpretations.
At the time of this writing, speci?c
guidance is in draft form at EPA recom-
mending stormwater management such
that the effects of 95 percent of storms
are the same as they would have been
prior to development. DOD would pre-
fer to retain more ?exibility in meeting
standards or in waiving them in certain
cases. The Navy, in its memorandum, set
a very high bar for the issuance of waiv-
ers by including language that waivers
are available only for the infrequent situ-
ations where low-impact development
is not appropriate. The language also
requires that if a waiver is issued, the ap-
proving of?cial is to be identi?ed in the
annual report to the Of?ce of Deputy
Chief of Naval Operations.
However, an executive order signed by
President Obama in October begins to
clarify requirements and enforcement.
The order stipulates that within 60 days
of its signing, EPA, in coordination with
other agencies, as appropriate, will issue
guidance on the implementation of Sec-
tion 438. Corresponding language is ?nd-
ing its way into both construction and
statewide stormwater permitting drafts.
What is Green Infrastructure?
Approaches to green infrastructure,
also called low-impact development,
seek to reduce stormwater runoff vol-
ume. Methods used to accomplish this
task vary widely, and include downspout
disconnection or sheet-?ow from small
impervious areas to grass or gravel; ?lter
strips; in?ltration practices; small wet-
lands; porous pavements of all kinds;
leaky pipe and node systems; cisterns
and rain barrels; groundwater injec-
tion; bioretention; soil amendments;
tree box ?lters; green roofs; vegetated
swales; and extended detention.
All such practices rely on a combina-
tion of three volume-reduction meth-
ods: in?ltration, evapotranspiration
and alternate rainwater use. Green
infrastructure also relies on sustain-
able site layouts that conserve natural
features, reduce impervious areas and
maximize use of grassy areas to ?lter
and in?ltrate runoff and catch and re-
tain water. Treatment of stormwater
is generally pushed upstream as far as
possible in a series of natural-looking
micro-controls.
Green infrastructure approaches
have often been found to be less ex-
pensive than conventional approaches.
For example, in 11 of 12 case studies
completed by EPA, green designs were
15 percent to 80 percent less expensive
than the conventional alternative. Ad-
ditionally, bene?ts including improved
aesthetics, expanded recreation oppor-
tunities and increased property values
are also often realized.
Green Infrastructure and Base Master Plans
These results illustrate the potential
use of green infrastructure practices in
base master planning. Two DOD facili-
ties at which comprehensive efforts have
been made to implement programs to
satisfy the requirements of Section 438
are Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB),
Mont., and Buckley AFB, Colo.
Malmstrom AFB completed a com-
prehensive stormwater master plan for
its entire facility in response to a need
to control runoff from both large and
small storms to reduce the erosion in
the Whitmore Ravine on private prop-
erty downstream of the base. The ero-
sion during runoff events was exacer-
bated by continuous dry weather ?ows
discharged from the base due to irriga-
tion return ?ows from the landscaped
areas of the base irrigated with potable
water. Thus, there was a strong need to
restore the predevelopment surface wa-
ter hydrology, including the dry weather
?ows, for all of the surface water dis-
charges leaving the base.
The master plan considered a vari-
ety of methods for restoring the pre-
development hydrology: constructed
wetland channels, bioswales, porous
landscape detention, detention basins,
long-term storage for reuse, in?ltration
swales, porous pavement, green roofs
and irrigation of formal landscaped
and agricultural areas with retained
stormwater. After a careful review of
the options, Malmstrom AFB selected
improved stormwater detention basins
and in?ltration swales as its highest pri-
ority items. Final design of these items
has been initiated, with construction
expected to begin in late 2009.
Buckley AFB is experiencing signi?-
cant increases in stormwater runoff
due to extensive military construction
activities. To maintain compliance with
stormwater permits and to promote or-
derly development, the base has autho-
rized the completion of a master drain-
age plan (MDP) that will seek to address
the situation and meet Air Force pro-
gram requirements.
The MDP is aggressively reviewing a
combination of traditional stormwa-
ter management facilities and porous
landscape detention and porous pave-
ment in new parking areas to meet the
program goals. The MDP is scheduled
from completion in late 2009 with the
goal to move the hydrologic regime to-
ward natural conditions suf?cient to
meet LEED certi?cation guidelines and
emerging Section 438 guidelines.
Such master plans serve as examples
of a rapid and signi?cant change in how
DOD facilities will plan and construct
their infrastructure in compliance with
new requirements well met by emerg-
ing green infrastructure practices.
Robert McGregor, Ph.D., P.E., M.SAME, is Prin-
cipal and Lt. Col. Andrew Reese, P.E., LEED AP,
USAR (Ret.), is Vice President, AMEC Earth &
Environmental Inc. They can be reached at
303-433-0262 ext. 238, or robert.mcgregor@
amec.com, and 615-333-0630 ext. 107, or an-
drew.reese@amec.com, respectively.
These results illustrate
the potential use of green
infrastructure practices in base
master planning.</p>
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