ABSTRACT
The discharge of storm water into navigable waterways is recognized as a widespread problem responsible for much of the degradat ion of U.S. waterways . Accord ing to the U.S. Env i ron men ta l Pro tect ion Agency (EPA), "pollution f rom di f fuse sources, such as r uno f f from agr icul tural , u rban areas, const ruc tion sites, land disposal and resource ext ract ion , is ci ted
by the States as the leading cause of water quali ty im pa i rm en t .1,1 The problem is d i f f icu lt to solve pr imar ily because storm water pollut ion is easily created: a discharge occurs whenever ra inwater falls on contaminated soils or piles of materials containing pollutants; this storm water then carries the contaminants into waterways.
