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PARCELRAM TECHNICAL AND USER GUIDANCE DOCUMENT v2.2 – JUNE 2019

PARCEL RAM TECHNICAL AND USER GUIDANCE DOCUMENT v 2.2 | i

Parcel Rapid Assessment Methodology

(Parcel RAM)

Technical and User Guidance Document 2.2

June 2019

Technical elements developed by:

Recommended citation:

2NDNATURE 2019. Parcel Rapid Assessment Methodology (Parcel RAM) Technical and User Guidance Document v 2.2. June 2019.

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Background

Parcel RAM v1 (released in August 2016) was collectively vetted with a selection of municipal stormwater managers and their respective regulatory representative at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to identify priority technical and data management refinements to better balance municipal work flow needs and information required to evaluate regulatory compliance. Based on these feedback, Parcel RAM v2 includes technical refinements and functional improvements toward a simple, practical and user friendly tool, fully integrated with the 2NFORM Stormwater Software Suite. Even with these improvements, Parcel RAM technical approach and data management platform will continually be improved and maintained to meet the needs of stormwater managers, funders, regulators and the community within the concise mission defined for the tool. User feedback is encouraged to ensure useful and feasible Parcel RAM improvements are identified, allowing continued effective iterations.

Legal Notices

Parcel RAM is the exclusive intellectual property of 2NDNATURE Software Inc. Use of Parcel RAM is subject to the terms and conditions of an agreement executed with 2NDNATURE Software Inc. prior to access being given to such product.

Copyright © 2019. 2NDNATURE Software Inc.

Information in this Technical and User Guidance Document and all 2NDNATURE technical support policies are subject to change without notice.

This Technical and User Guidance Document is provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind. 2NDNATURE Software Inc. expressly disclaim all warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and against infringement.

Patent pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/534,173 Systems and Methods for Event-based Modeling of Runoff and Pollutant Benefits of Sustainable Stormwater Management 2NDNATURE Software Inc. 500 Seabright Avenue, Suite 205 Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Phone +1 831 426 9119 Fax +1 831 426 7092 http://www.2nsoftware.com/

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1 SUMMARY Parcel Rapid Assessment Methodology (Parcel RAM; www.parcelram.com) is a critical assessment tool in the 2NFORM Stormwater Software Suite, purposely built for municipal stormwater managers to run effective stormwater programs and more efficiently demonstrate compliance with Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) permits. These efficiencies allow municipalities to plan and implement actions that reduce the impacts of the urban environment on downstream receiving waters. Parcel RAM is a geospatial tool that communicates the benefits of urban parcel runoff controls through low impact development (LID)1 implementation at both the local and urban catchment scale.

While each MS4 NPDES permit is slightly different in its structure and detailed elements, the 2NFORM Stormwater Suite has been designed to capture the intent of the Clean Water Act (1972) toward sustainable urban land management through practical quantified planning, implementation and reporting procedures. Recent State and Federal regulations require new and redevelopment projects in urban areas to reduce the fraction of rain that immediately discharges from an urban parcel through either detention or retention. These regulations have been incorporated into MS4 NDPDES permits, and municipal permittees must demonstrate compliance annually. Municipalities need a practical data management system to track projects and produce annual reports that meet these (re)development regulations. Parcel RAM meets this need through a focused information management system based in a geospatial platform. Regulators are then allowed read-only access to municipal records, easing the reporting burden and streamlining regulatory review.

The status quo of urban development has been to convey rain falling in the urban landscape as quickly as possible to avoid flooding. Parcel RAM includes a simple, consistent and repeatable field assessment method to verify effective LID implementation. The user conducts an objective evaluation of the proportion of the parcel impervious area that has been disconnected from direct routing to the storm drain system. A parcel can exist in one of three conditions as defined in Table 1. Users can be trained in a day to use the map-based Parcel RAM assessment protocols, and results are tracked in the online data management system by APN and address. The results are then quantified as catchment volume reductions by the integrated power of the 2NFORM stormwater software suite (www.2nform.com/tools).

Table 1 Parcel conditions based on Parcel RAM assessment methodology. Condition Description

Status Quo

More than 50% of the parcel area drains across the parcel boundary as surface runoff.

Reduced Runoff

10-50% of the parcel area drains across the parcel boundary as surface runoff.

Runoff Neutral

Less than 10% of the parcel area drains across the parcel boundary as surface runoff.

1 First instance of terms defined in the Glossary (Chapter 6) is bolded.

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As a society, we are beginning to realize the water supply, water quality, and other ecological benefits of runoff controls in urban landscapes. As the spatial density of runoff neutral parcels increase in an urban drainage, changes in the hydrology and urban pollutant loading to receiving waters may be measurable. Parcel RAM maps provide an education and outreach opportunity to better explain stormwater impacts and communicate opportunities for landowners to contribute to the restoration of the hydrologic cycle in urban areas. Our hope is that Parcel RAM’s transparent approach to quantification and visualization of parcel-based improvements serves to inspire widespread LID implementation in urban communities while empowering municipalities to efficiently demonstrate compliance with LID regulatory requirements.

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2 PARCEL DESIGN RESOURCES Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. 2015. “Stormwater Technical Guide.” March 2015. http://www.montereysea.org/docs/developer_regulations/2015-03-25_Stormwater_Technical_Guide_final.pdf

City of Santa Cruz Planning and Community Development Department. 2012. “City of Santa Cruz 2030 General Plan.” June 2012. http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=33418

County of San Diego. 2012. “SUSMP: Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan Requirements for Development Applications.” Revised August 2012.

Low Impact Development Center. Urban Design Tools Website. http://www.lid-stormwater.net/

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Stormwater management: Low-impact development and green infrastructure. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/stormwater-management-low-impact-development-and-green-infrastructure

Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County. 2015. “Slow it. Spread it. Sink it! A Homeowner’s Guide to Turning Runoff into a Resource.” June 2015. http://www.sscrcd.org/pdf/Slowit.Spreadit.Sinkit.vfinal.pdf

San Bernardino County Department of Public Works. http://cms.sbcounty.gov/dpw/Home.aspx

Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District. 2016. “Slow it. Spread it. Sink it!” Southern Sonoma Resource Conservation District. http://www.sscrcd.org/rainwater.php

State Water Resources Control Board. 2016. “Storm Water Program.” California Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/stormwater/

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Stormwater Management Program. http://www.tahoebmp.org

Tetra Tech. 2011. San Diego Low Impact Development Design Manual. July 2011. https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/lidmanual_0.pdf

University of Arkansas Community Design Center. 2010. Low Impact Development: A design manual for urban areas. http://www.bwdh2o.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Low_Impact_Development_Manual-2010.pdf

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3 LITERATURE REFERENCES 2NDNATURE, 2016. Best Management Practices Rapid Assessment Methodology (BMP RAM). Technical Document v3.1. November 2016. 52pp.

2NDNATURE, 2017a. Stormwater tool to estimate load reduction (swTELR). Technical Document v1.1. March 2017. 141pp.

2NDNATURE, 2017b. Guidance for Creating Catchment Boundaries and Attributes. Final Report v3.1. July 2017. 54pp.

2NDNATURE LLC & Northwest Hydraulic Consultants. 2011. Placer County Stormwater TMDL Strategy: Final Technical Report. July 2011.

2NDNATURE, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, and Environmental Incentives, 2010. Road Rapid Assessment Methodology (Road RAM) Technical Document, Tahoe Basin. Final Report prepared for the California Tahoe Conservancy and Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. November 2010. 74pp. www.tahoeroadram.com

Beck, N,. L. Kanner, G. Conley, and M. Mathias. 2017. An urban runoff model designed to inform stormwater management decisions, Journal of Environmental Management, 193 (2017): 257-269. Beck, N,. L. Kanner, G. Conley, and M. Mathias. 2017. An urban runoff model designed to inform stormwater management decisions, Journal of Environmental Management, 193 (2017): 257-269.

Bernhardt, E.S., M. A. Palmer, J. D. Allan, G. Alexander, K. Barnas, S. Brooks, J. Carr, S. Clayton, C. Dahm, J. Follstad-Shah, D. Galat, S. Gloss, P. Goodwin, D. Hart, B. Hassett, R. Jenkinson, S. Katz, G. M. Kondolf, P. S. Lake, R. Lave, J. L. Meyer, T. K. O'Donnell, L. Pagano, B. Powell, E. Sudduth, 2005. Synthesizing U.S. River Restoration Efforts. Science, 29:636-637.

Booth, D. B., Karr, J. R., Schauman, S., Konrad, C. P., Morley, S. A., Larson, M. G. and Burges, S. J. 2004. Reviving urban streams: Land use, hydrology, biology and human behavior. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 40: 1351–1364.

Booth, D.B., and C.R. Jackson, 1997. Urbanization of Aquatic Systems—Degradation Thresholds, Stormwater Detention, and the Limits of Mitigation. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 22(5), 20pp. October 1997.

Booth, D.B., A.H. Roy, B. Smith, and K.A. Capps. 2015. Global perspectives on the urban stream syndrome. Freshwater Science 34:1169-1175.

California State Water Resources Control Board, 2015. 2012 California Integrated Report: Clean Water Act Sections 303(d) and 305(b). Final Staff Report. April 8, 2015. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/docs/ir_staffreport_final.pdf

California State Water Resources Control Board, 2016. Strategy to Optimize Resource Management of Storm Water. Storm Water Strategy, STORMS. January 6, 2016. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/stormwater/storms/docs/storms_strategy.pdf

Damodaram, C., Giacomoni, M. H., Khedun, C. P., Holmes, H., Ryan, A., Saour, W., Zechman, E. M. 2010. Simulation of Combined Best Management Practices and Low Impact Development for Sustainable Stormwater Management. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Association, 46(5):907-918.

Dunne, T., and Leopold, L. B., 1978. Water in Environmental Planning. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 818 pp.

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Erickson, A.J., P.T. Weiss, and J.S. Gulliver. Optimizing Stormwater Treatment Practices: A Handbook of Assessment and Maintenance. New York: Springer. 2013.

Ernst, A. G., Warren, D. R. and Baldigo, B. P. (2012), Natural-Channel-Design Restorations That Changed Geomorphology Have Little Effect on Macroinvertebrate Communities in Headwater Streams. Restoration Ecology, 20: 532–540.

Hollis, G.E., 1975. The Effect of Urbanization on Floods of Different Recurrence Interval. Water Resources Research, 11:431-435.

Karr, J.R. and E.M. Rossano. 2001. Applying Public Health Lessons to Protect River Health. Ecology and Civil Engineering, 4:3-18. Keeley, M. (2007). Using Individual Parcel Assessments to Improve Stormwater Management. Journal Of The American Planning Association, 73(2), 149-160.

Leopold, L.B., 1968. Hydrology for Urban Land Planning: A Guidebook on the Hydrologic Effects of Urban Land Use. Geological Survey Circular 554, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Loganathan, P., Vigneswaran, S., Kandasamy, J. 2013. Road-Deposited Sediment Pollutants: A Critical Review of their Characteristics, Source Apportionment, and Management. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 43: 1315-1348.

May, C. W., and R. R. Horner. 2002. The limitations of mitigation based stormwater management in the Pacific Northwest and the potential of a conservation strategy based on low-impact development principles. Pages 1–16 in E. W. Strecker and W. C. Huber (editors). 9th International Conference on Urban Drainage, Global Solutions for Urban Drainage, Portland, Oregon. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Virginia.

Navarro, S., 2016. TRPA. Personal communication, February 2016.

Palmer, M.A., Menninger, H.L. and Bernhardt, E. 2010. River restoration, habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity: a failure of theory or practice?. Freshwater Biology, 55: 205–222.

Parikh, Punam, Taylor, M., Hoagland, T., Thurston, H., Shuster, W. (2005). Application of market mechanisms and incentives to reduce stormwater runoff: An integrated hydrologic, economic, and legal approach. Environmental Science and Policy, 8 (2005), 133-144.

Paul, M. J., and J. L. Meyer. 2001. Streams in the urban landscape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 32:333–365.

Richards, B.K., Steenhuis, T.S., Peverly, J.H. & McBride, M.B. 1998. Metal mobility at an old, heavily loaded sludge application site. Environmental Pollution, 99:365–377.

Rossman, L., and W. Huber, 2016. Storm Water Management Model Reference Manual Volume I – Hydrology (Revised). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH. Revised January 2016.

Roy, A.H., M.C. Freeman, B.J. Freeman, S.J. Wenger, W.E. Ensign, and J. L. Meyer. 2005. Investigating hydrologic alteration as a mechanism of fish assemblage shifts in urbanizing streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 24:3, 656-678

Roy, A.H., W.D. Shuster, 2009. Assessing impervious surface connectivity and applications for watershed management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 45(1):198-209.

Sartor, J. D. & Boyd, G. B. 1972. Water Pollution Aspects of Street Surface Contaminants. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

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Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. 2010. Restoration in Progress: Environmental Improvement Program Update, Planning Horizon through 2018. http://www.trpa.org/wp-content/uploads/EIP_Report_Update.pdf

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). 2014. Best Management Practices Handbook. May 2014. http://www.tahoebmp.org/BMPHandbook.aspx

Walsh, C.J., D.B Booth, M.J. Burns, T.D. Fletcher, R.L. Hale, L.N. Hoang, G Livingston, M. A. Rippy, A.H. Roy, M. Scoggins, A. W. 2016. Principles for urban stormwater management to protect stream ecosystems. Freshwater Science, 35(1) 398-411.

Walsh, C. J., T. D. Fletcher, and M. J. Burns. 2012. Urban stormwater runoff: a new class of environmental flow problem. PLoS ONE 7:e45814.

Yuan, Y., Hall, K., & Oldham, C., 2001. A preliminary model for predicting heavy metal contaminant loading from an urban catchment. Science of the Total Environment, 266(1-3), 299-307.

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MUNICIPAL STORMWATER PERMITS

California State Water Resources Control Board, 2013. Stormwater Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. Water Quality Order No. 2013-0001-DWQ, General Permit No. CAS000004. February 5, 2013. Section E.12 – Post Construction Storm Water Management Program http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/stormwater/docs/phsii2012_5th/order_final.pdf

California Regional Water Quality Control Board San Francisco Bay Region. 2015. Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permit. Order No. R2-2015-0049. November 19, 2015. Section C.3 – New Development and Redevelopment. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/water_issues/programs/stormwater/Municipal/R2-2015-0049.pdf

California State Water Resources Control Board Central Coast Region. 2012. Water Discharge Requirements for City of Salinas Municipal Storm Water Discharges. Order No. R3-2012-0005, 201. May 3, 2012. Section J.2 – Parcel-Scale Development, Stormwater Development Standards http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/stormwater/docs/salinas/2012_0005_salinas_permit.pdf

California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Coast Region. 2013. Approving Post-Construction Stormwater Management Requirements for Development Projects in the Central Coast Region. Resolution No. R3-2013-0032. July 12, 2013. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/stormwater/docs/lid/hydromod_lid_docs/2013_0032resolution_signed.pdf

California Regional Water Quality Control Board Los Angeles Region. 2012. Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Discharges Within the Coastal Watersheds of Los Angeles County, Except Those Discharges Originating from the City of Long Beach MS4. Order No. R4-2012-0175. November 8, 2012. Section VI.D.7 – Planning and Land Development Program. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/water_issues/programs/stormwater/municipal/la_ms4/2015/OrderR4-2012-0175-FinalOrderasamendedbyOrderWQ2015-0075.pdf

California Regional Water Quality Control Board Santa Ana Region. 2010. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit and Waste Discharge Requirements for the San Bernardino County Flood Control District, the County of San Bernardino, and the Incorporated Cities of San Bernardino County within the Santa Ana Region. Area-Wide Urban Storm Water Runoff Management Program. Order No. R8-2010-0036. January, 29, 2010. Section II.G – New Development/Significant Redevelopment – WQMP/LID.

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/santaana/board_decisions/adopted_orders/orders/2010/10_036_SBC_MS4_Permit_01_29_10.pdf

California Regional Water Quality Control Board San Diego Region. 2013. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit and Waste Discharge Requirements for Discharges from the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) Draining the Watersheds within the San Diego Region. Order No. R9-2013-0001. May 8, 2013. Section E.3 – Development Planning.

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego/water_issues/programs/stormwater/docs/updates052313/2013-0523_Order_No._R9-2013-0001_COMPLETE.pdf