NEWS: Leadership, transitions, and vision, a glimpse into the first 100 days of a new CEO

New presidents make their marks on America within the first 100 days of taking office. Does our new CEO expect to make her mark on water quality in her first 100 days?

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells was tapped as our new Chief Executive Officer this month and she will assume the role officially once current CEO Julius Ciaccia retires February 10. It's inauguration week, so we asked Kyle about her vision, the peaceful transition of power, and her plans for her first 100 days.

"My vision is really about leadership," Kyle said. As an eight-year District employee and former director of Chagrin River Watershed Partners, she emphasized the role the Sewer District must play as a leader in water quality.

"We need to continue to be leaders on key environmental issues that affect our rivers, streams and lake, but also on the real infrastructure investment it's going to take to maintain the progress we've made and the progress we need to make."

NEWS: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells to be appointed CEO, sees "opportunity to build upon successes"

Leadership, passion, commitment among words used to describe Dreyfuss-Wells as CEO Ciaccia prepares for February retirement

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells will be appointed Chief Executive Officer effective February 11. Dreyfuss-Wells will succeed Julius Ciaccia who, after more than nine years as CEO, will retire on February 10, 2017.

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells addresses
the City Club, 2016

"Under the leadership of CEO Ciaccia, the Sewer District has become one of the most renowned progressive environmental organizations in the nation," Dreyfuss-Wells said. "I would like to thank the Board of Trustees for giving me the opportunity to build upon those successes."

Dreyfuss-Wells has been with the Sewer District since 2008, and currently is the Deputy Director of Watershed Programs. In addition to her leadership role in the development and implementation of the Regional Stormwater Management Program, Dreyfuss-Wells played a critical role in the negotiations with the federal government of Project Clean Lake, the Sewer District’s program to significantly reduce the amount of raw sewage discharging into the environment.

She has led on the Sewer District’s Green Infrastructure Program, including the implementation of the grants program, which is designed to remove stormwater from the combined system as redevelopment activities occur.

LIST: Fees to remedy stormwater problems set to resume in July. 3 things to know in our latest #StormwaterProgram update

Since being authorized last September, the Sewer District has been preparing for a July 2016 restart of assessing regional stormwater management program fees. 

An informational postcard will be mailed to customers this summer to remind them of the upcoming charges, explain how the fee is assessed and spent, and promote opportunities for credits by managing stormwater on their property. Besides the comprehensive FAQ we have available, here are 3 of the latest things to know.

1. The program's plans aim to address stormwater problems

Solving stormwater problems (flooding, erosion, pollution) can be difficult, since runoff from hard surfaces in one community drains into another. A Stormwater Management Program provides a regional approach to these problems. The Sewer District’s Regional Stormwater Management Program addresses flooding, erosion, and pollution problems by:

• building projects,
• maintaining streams and large pipes that carry stormwater,
• addressing regional drainage problems,
• providing technical expertise to communities, and
• developing green space.

2. The fee is assessed based on impervious surface.

The more impervious surfaces—parking lots, rooftops, and driveways—on your property, the greater your stormwater fee. Visit our online FeeFinder neorsd.org/FindMyFee to determine your stormwater fee.

Residential properties

The fee is based on an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) equal to 3,000 sq. ft. of impervious surface, such as roof and driveway. The rate for one (1) ERU is $5.15 per month. Residences are placed in one of three categories:

• Tier 1 (less than 2,000 sq. ft. impervious surface)
• Tier 2 (2,000 to 4,000 sq. ft.)
• Tier 3 (more than 4,000 sq. ft.)

For 2016, a Tier 1 house pays $3.09 per month, a Tier 2 house pays $5.15, and a Tier 3 house pays $9.27.

Non-residential properties

A non-residential property is billed on the total number of ERUs of impervious surface it has. Visit our online FeeFinder to determine what you will be charged: neorsd.org/FindMyFee


3. You have opportunities to reduce your stormwater fee.

Customers can receive a fee reduction—known as a fee credit—if they take measures to manage stormwater flowing from their properties. (Examples include rain barrels, rain gardens, and cisterns.) You can learn more about these credits and educational resources at neorsd.org/stormwater or contact a Watershed Team Leader for details about opportunities on your property.

Contact us

If you have stormwater fee questions, check out our FAQ, or you can reach us in several ways:

• Twitter @neorsd #StormwaterProgram 
• Facebook
• Ask our Customer Service staff
• Call (216) 881-8247
• Visit one of our traveling Roadshow events this summer coming to a community near you

GREEN: 6 ways green infrastructure takes root locally and regionally

Protect. Enhance. Preserve. Restore.

These goals are at the heart of the sweeping Green Infrastructure Policy that guides the projects we pursue and helps quantify their benefits to our region.

"The policy demonstrates a commitment," said Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Deputy Director of Watershed Programs. "It lays out a future where green infrastructure is integrated across our program areas to lead the most effective applications of this technology."

Defining green

Definitions of "green infrastructure" can vary across cities and agencies, but the Sewer District embraces two clear definitions as follows:

Project Clean Lake green infrastructure
Related to our 25-year combined sewer overflow consent decree
The range of stormwater control measures that use plant/soil systems, permeable pavement, or stormwater harvest and reuse, to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to the combined sewer system.

Wet-Weather Program green infrastructure
Stormwater source control measures that store, filter, infiltrate, harvest and reuse, or evapotranspirate stormwater to increase resiliency of infrastructure by reducing stress on wet-weather drainage and collection systems which increase co-benefits in support of healthy environments and strong communities.

FAQ: 38 questions and answers about our #StormwaterProgram, next steps, fees, and more

Since the September 15 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, we have already begun responding to common questions about the program restart, fees, credits, cost-sharing, and more. We revisited some of the questions that existed prior to the program's suspension in 2013 and added a few we've started answering in recent days.

Updated September 25, 2015 / March 31, 2016

Background and basics: About the program

Why is regional stormwater management necessary?
Stormwater-related problems must be addressed regionally because what happens in one community can affect another. Often one community addresses a problem and may inadvertently move that problem downstream to the next community. Managing stormwater flows is necessary to protect our natural resources, reduce streambank erosion and decrease the pollutants in streams and rivers. If these issues are not addressed today, the problems will continue to get worse and will be more costly to solve in the future.

TIPS: Rain garden resources and stormwater solutions you can use at home

Simple steps around your home can have big benefits in your yard and in our region.

On-site stormwater management helps protect water quality and reduce flooding and erosion, but having a comprehensive list of common best practices can be overwhelming. Many local watershed groups provide tips and resources. Here, we've listed a few of our favorites to give you quick access to the manuals, worksheets, and diagrams that may simplify your search.

LIST: 3 things to know about yesterday's #StormwaterProgram ruling

1. First things first, we are reviewing the ruling now. 

Since yesterday's decision, a lot needs to happen before the Regional Stormwater Management Program—suspended since September of 2013—gets back up and running. Our priority now is to review the official decision and determine a plan for reorganizing and re-implementing.

2. No fees will be charged until after an official plan is back in place.

Several media outlets yesterday implied that fees (or incorrectly referred to as taxes) were imminent and customers would see them in the near future. That is not the case.

While we had a fee structure in place in 2013, no official tiers have been established for the relaunch, and so you should not expect to see a stormwater fee on your bill until well after we have set a new implementation schedule. We will keep customers informed through traditional media, social media, bill messages and a mailing to all customers as decisions are made.

When the program was halted, we had collected about $20 million (archived story) worth of the fees between January and September of 2013. An early step, as we told cleveland.com yesterday, will be for us to request that those monies be released from escrow so we can begin putting those dollars to work solving immediate stormwater problems.

3. The problems of 2013 still exist, and the solution is still regional. 

Since the program's suspension in 2013, stormwater projects like stream maintenance to reduce flooding and erosion were put on hold. In some cases, stormwater problems have become worse.

The same logic for a regional program back then remains applicable today. Stream problems that cross community boundaries can not always be addressed within a single municipality's limits, which is why we advocated for—and the Court agreed we have the authority to manage—a regional solution.

As we move forward now with full approval from the Ohio Supreme Court, our mission remains the same: Keep our Great Lake great.

What questions do you have? Post them here, or tweet or message us so we can be sure to add them to a frequently asked questions post in the near future.

STORMWATER: Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of #StormwaterProgram

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s appeal concerning the Regional Stormwater Management Program. Read the ruling.

The Sewer District, under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119 and founding charter, is not only authorized to manage stormwater, but impose a fee for that purpose.

The Regional Stormwater Management Program is designed to address flooding, streambank erosion and water quality issues throughout much of Northeast Ohio.

RELATED STORIES: 3 things to know now that a #StormwaterProgram ruling has been made

“This is a great victory for the region,” said Darnell Brown, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Board of Trustees President. “Stormwater is causing damage and inter-community flooding problems, and we can now tackle this growing problem with a regional solution.”

VIDEO: Watch the full #OHstormwater arguments from the Supreme Court hearing

Case No. 2013-1770 Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District v. Bath Township, Ohio, et al.

LIST: 4 ways Hollywood is like (or not like) what we'll see at our Supreme Court #OHstormwater hearing

Law & Order. The Good Wife. LA Law. Ally McBeal.

How do the popular TV courtroom dramas stand up to an actual Ohio Supreme Court hearing?

We'll find out September 9 when the Sewer District argues its case for a Regional Stormwater Management Program. While it might not make a prime-time lineup, it will be live-streamed, and the hearing is an important one as the decision will have a wide-reaching impact on stormwater management efforts across the state.

Still, before Tuesday, we can make four quick comparisons between Hollywood's courtroom and what we'll actually see in Columbus September 9.

OPINION: Toledo's "Do not drink" order should be a wake-up call

Much like the 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River, it takes catastrophic events to get real action.

This weekend, in Toledo, a large population base was adversely impacted and could not use its potable water system for the most basic needs, cooking and drinking. We need to ask ourselves: Should this be happening in 2014?

The answer is simple: No.

For decades, leaders at all levels have known about the factors, including polluted stormater runoff, which was a major cause of the situation in Toledo. For years, the wastewater industry has been aggressively pushing the need for a broad-based approach to deal with non-point pollution and stormwater management. In Greater Cleveland, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District developed a program, the Regional Stormwater Management Program, to address regional stormwater problems like runoff. Unfortunately our authority to carry out this program has been delayed by litigation that will soon be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court. In the meantime, stormwater problems, like erosion, flooding and water quality issues, will only continue to increase in our region.

We in Greater Cleveland are fortunate to have a water system that sits in a better strategic position and is constructed with ample redundancy to assure reliability. So we do not have a problem now. But we would be foolhardy to not consider our vulnerability in the future and our region's contributions to non-point sources that foul our waterways that feed into Lake Erie.

This event highlights the importance of our continued investments in treatment facilities, the mitigation of sewage overflows, maintenance and renewal of local sewage-collection systems, and the need to manage stormwater on a regional basis.

Julius Ciaccia
Executive Director

NEWS: "Do not drink" water order in Toledo, surrounding communities is a sobering call to action

Early Saturday morning, Lucas County issued an alarming "Do not drink the water" alert affecting 19 communities and more than 400,000 residents. The directive is due to exceedingly high levels of microcystin, a toxin produced by toxic algae blooms.

While the alert is outside of our and Cleveland Division of Water's service areas, the action is related to events that affect many of our customers in Northeast Ohio, and the relationship is worth noting.

Toledo's news is a tragic example of the importance of protecting our water resources, particularly Lake Erie.

BREAKING: Supreme Court sets September 9 date to hear #StormwaterProgram case

In a week in which heavy storms flooded and affected many communities in eastern Cleveland suburbs, the Ohio Supreme Court has set a date for hearing oral arguments of a monumental case of regional stormwater management.

The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments September 9, in which the Sewer District will present its case that it is authorized to charge a fee and manage problems caused by stormwater runoff across the region.

The fee was expected to collect $35 million per year to address cross-community stream flooding, erosion and maintenance issues until an appeals court ruling suspended the program last September.

Since then, several significant storms have wreaked havoc on local communities while $20 million has sat in escrow while the program is halted.

"It is clear a majority of the Sewer District’s member communities and others understand the significant benefit of the program," Sewer District Executive Director Julius Ciaccia has stated previously.

“This case...is of great public interest, not just to our region, but to all Ohioans,” said Director of Law Marlene Sundheimer.

Related stories:

• WATCH: Ohio Supreme Court hearing live-stream September 9
• Regional stormwater program heads to Supreme Court
• Litigation hinders ability to assist communities following storm
• FAQ: 21 customer questions about the #StormwaterProgram ruling, fees, billing, and more

#RNC2CLE: Whatever your party, clean water is worth celebrating.

Big news for the CLE from the RNC today as Cleveland and Dallas are the final two cities in the running for the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Whatever your political leanings might be, an event like this could bring much attention to Cleveland in a very positive way. Of course, we're proud of our natural resources and our work that helps keep them great. Despite the challenges of today and tomorrow, there is hope, and there is action.

And that's a ticket worth running on.

PIC: This is how quickly the Cuyahoga River surged during the May 12 downpour.

Well that escalated quickly.

We've posted a few stories since the May 12 storm event that still has communities trying to clean up.

Photo by George Remias, data via USGS stream gauge along Cuyahoga River in Independence, Ohio.

UPDATE: Storm clean-up, costs, communities, and why a regional #StormwaterProgram is critical

Storm debris clogs the Cuyahoga River under Alexander Road in Valley View May 13, 2014.

Could $20 million in inaccessible funds have helped local communities respond to storm damage following Northeast Ohio's torrential downpour earlier this week?

That's a question we raised here May 13. Communities are facing storm clean-up challenges while $20 million sits frozen in escrow as a result of a September court ruling that the Sewer District does not have the authority to implement a Regional Stormwater Management Program.

Much has happened this week, and we presented an update to our Trustees yesterday. The report and conversation deserves to be highlighted.

After the storm

Throughout the week, Sewer District crews have assessed the storm damage throughout the region. Debris removal and maintenance is estimated to be nearly $1 million, and erosion control and repair costs are estimated to be millions of additional dollars. This is in addition to the existing costs to maintain and repair stormwater infrastructure.

[PICS] After the storm: The regional impacts of a Northeast Ohio storm May 12, 2014nt_051314_r2 from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Under the Regional Stormwater Management Program, the Sewer District would have been mobilized to assist communities and address these problems. Unfortunately, because of litigation, the Sewer District is unable to do anything to fix these issues.

NEWS: Litigation hinders ability to assist communities hit by Monday’s storm [#StormwaterProgram]

A stream rack holds back storm debris near Cleveland Hopkins
International Airport following a heavy rain event May 12.

$20 million remains inaccessible in stormwater escrow

Northeast Ohio communities are underwater from the storm that moved into the region on Monday night. Unfortunately, as a result of the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals ruling that the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District does not have the authority to implement a Regional Stormwater Management Program, affected communities are now left to address the aftermath without the Sewer District’s assistance and expertise.

Ironically, the storm occurred on the same day those in support of the Regional Stormwater Program filed amicus briefs with the Ohio Supreme Court on the Sewer District’s behalf. They include 18 supporting member communities (one brief), City of Cleveland, National Association of Clean Water Agencies and Association of Ohio Municipal Wastewater Agencies, Coalition of Ohio Regional Districts, The State of Ohio through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and The Cleveland Metroparks.

BREAKING: Regional #StormwaterProgram headed to Ohio Supreme Court

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed to hear the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s appeal concerning the Regional Stormwater Management Program. The Supreme Court has accepted two Propositions of Law presented by the Sewer District.

• Proposition of Law No. 1: “A district formed pursuant to [Ohio Revised Code] Chapter 6119 is authorized to manage stormwater which is not combined with sewage, and to impose a charge for that purpose. Such a charge is one ‘for the use or service of a water resource project or any benefit conferred thereby.’”
• Proposition of Law No. 2: “When a Petition and Plan of Operations grant a [Ohio Revised Code] Chapter 6119 district the authority to operate storm water handling facilities, that District is authorized to create and implement a regional stormwater management program, including imposing appropriate charges to operate that program.”

FAQ: 21 customer questions about the #StormwaterProgram ruling, fees, billing, and more

Updated February 16, 2015

We understand many customers have questions about their bills following last week's news that we can no longer collect fees for stormwater management. We have already begun fielding questions in our Customer Service department and online, and these appear to be the most common so far.

If you have other questions not listed here, leave us a comment and we will provide an answer for you.

1. What is the court’s ruling?
The Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals ruled September 26, 2013 that the Sewer District did not have the authority to pursue its Regional Stormwater Management Program and cannot charge the stormwater service fee. The Sewer District has been enjoined (prevented) from implementing the program. Read the decision.

2. Why did the court decide this?
The court stated that the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119 that outlines the authority of the Regional Sewer District did not give us the authority to enact this program.

3. What happens next?
The Sewer District appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Ohio. We are confident that we will be successful as we have been in lower court. UPDATE 2015 02/16: Watch the oral arguments from September 9, 2014

BREAKING: Court rules against #StormwaterProgram, environment and customers will remain the focus of our next steps

Late Thursday, the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals ruled against the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in finding that, among other things, the Sewer District does not have the authority under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6119 or its Charter to enact and implement the Regional Stormwater Management Program under Title V, or to collect its stormwater fee.

As a result of this ruling, the District is suspending Regional Stormwater Management Program activities and the collection of stormwater fees for the program while the District pursues an appeal of the Court’s ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court.

RELATED STORIES:
Sewer District asks Supreme Court to hear case on storm-water fee (The Plain Dealer, Nov. 12, 2013)

21 common customer questions about our #StormwaterProgram, fees, billing, and more

We understand as customers you are going to have questions in the coming days about the program, its work, and fees you have already invested. Let us assure you that we are evaluating next steps and will keep customers informed through all available means as details develop.

As many of our member communities can attest, the work being done is desperately needed in our region. We remain dedicated to protecting our region's health and environment. We believe in the environmental benefits of regional stormwater management and are committed to keeping our Great Lake great.