3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2007

Lauren Kolodij, Deputy Director
252-393-8185
laurenk@nccoast.org

Wise Development: NCCF to host workshop with national expert on Low Impact Development techniques, April 18-19

Ocean, NC – Development on the coast is not going to stop anytime soon. Given that fact, the key to protecting our coastal shoreline and productive waters is to develop in a way that protects the resources that draw people here in the first place.

On April 18 and 19, the North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) aims to provide developers, local officials, contractors and ordinary residents with the tools to do just that.

Sponsors of the workshop include the Carteret County Economic Development Council, North Carolina’s Eastern Region, and the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program.

NCCF is hosting a workshop about Low Impact Development (LID) techniques. LID offers an innovative alternative to traditional stormwater management in low, medium and high-density development by integrating stormwater controls into landscape features where runoff is micromanaged or controlled at its source. This allows the landscape to mimic its pre-development capacity to absorb its own stormwater runoff, thus protecting local waterways.

LID has proven to be cost-effective in managing stormwater when compared to the conventional practices currently in place. LID disconnects runoff pathways and uses on-site infiltration reducing the need for costly stormwater collection systems and ponds.

The workshop, which will be held at the Crystal Coast Civic Center beginning at 9:30 on April 18, will focus on providing participants information on the economic and environmental benefits of using LID techniques. The workshop is intended for developers, engineers, contractors, landscape architects, planners, local and state government representatives and coastal residents interested in LID techniques.

The April 18 sessions will offer presentations and group discussion on LID with Larry Coffman, a nationally known expert in LID techniques. Coffman is President of Stormwater Services, an environmental consulting firm specializing in Low Impact Development. He has over 30 years of experience in stormwater management, water resources protection, and environmental restoration.

He is former Associate Director of the Prince George’s County, Maryland’s Department of Environmental Resources, where he was responsible for oversight of the county’s NPDES stormwater program, flood control program, water and sewer planning and outreach programs.

He is the principal author and architect of Prince George’s County’s national award winning Low Impact Development Design Strategies: An Integrated Design Approach, an alternative “decentralized at the source” approach to stormwater management.

The workshop will also feature a question and answer session with a panel of local developers and state officials.

The final day will offer Site Visits to locations in Carteret County from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The cost of the workshop is $25, and pre-registration is required. Space is limited and filling rapidly. To register or for more information on the workshop, visit NCCF’s website at www.nccoast.org or contact NCCF headquarters at 252-393-8185.