1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CSO CONTROLS AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING

• Seventy-six of the 83 Phase 1 CSO outfalls are now under control (retention/treatment basin) or have been eliminated (sewer separation). Nine CSO retention/treatment basins are currently in operation for the communities of Inkster, Redford, Acacia Park, Dearborn Heights, Bloomfield Village, Birmingham and Detroit's 7 Mile, Hubbell-Southfield and Puritan-Fenkell. Livonia, Garden City, Plymouth Township, Bloomfield Hills, Wayne and Westland have completed their CSO separation projects.
• The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality completed its review of the performance of the three Oakland County CSO basins and prepared a letter dated June 23, 2000, certifying that these basins have met the Phase 2 water quality objectives. MDEQ has requested some supplemental investigations at the basins in Dearborn Heights, Inkster and Redford to continue through September 2000.

• Twenty-four communities and agencies completed their first annual reports to the MDEQ under the Storm Water General Permit. Four communities are planning to submit their reports shortly, with the remaining reports due to MDEQ one year after the date of community certification.
• Wayne County Department of Environment met with Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on June 5 in the third quarterly coordination meeting on the subwatershed management planning. The meeting validated progress achieved to date and established cooperative goals for the next three months.
• All seven subwatershed advisory groups completed draft portions of their subwatershed management plans and transmitted these to the MDEQ. The discussion of short-term and long-term actions and alternatives for watershed management is now underway in the subwatersheds.
• The seven subwatersheds completed holding their initial round of public participation meetings in May.
• DOE continues to provide an Illicit Connection/Discharge Training Program for communities and agencies that apply for the General Storm Water Discharge Permit. Development of the advanced module (tracking) down the source of illicit connections) continued. Two sessions of the Construction Related Illicit Discharges training module were presented.

ADVANCING THE WATERSHED VISION

• DOE continues work with the Detroit District US Army Corps of Engineers regarding potential restoration of the paved channel section of the Rouge. DOE met with the Detroit District in June 2000 to discuss progress on the project.
• The annual Rouge 2000 meeting took place at the UM Dearborn on May 26, 2000. All major local government and county government stakeholders, along with representatives of Ford Motor Company, UM-Dearborn and Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village were in attendance. Rep. John Dingell and Rep. Joseph Knollengberg were also present.
• The Department of Environment is developing a master plan for ecosystem restoration and recreational improvements along the seven-mile reach of the Rouge River from Ford Road in Dearborn to the Detroit River. The DOE meets every two months with a stakeholder group, the Gateway Partnership, as part of this planning effort. A brochure describing the Gateway Partnership efforts was prepared and distributed at the Rouge 2000 event.
• Design and production of new materials for the River Friendly Partners Program continued this month.
• Staff continued operation and maintenance of the Rouge Project Web site www.rougeriver.com , which recorded 40,000 to 60,000 hits per month in the second quarter of 2000.
• Letters summarizing progress on the achievements of the Rouge project were mailed to a number of state and federal officials, and the Rouge video produced for Rouge 2000 was also enclosed with the letter. Two articles on the Rouge Project and its approach to watershed management were featured in the June issue of the national periodical Water Environment Technology.
• A paper has been prepared for submission to the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, titled "Management of Onsite Sewage Disposal Systems: A Comprehensive Approach". In the first 7 months of implementation of the ordinances in Wayne and Washtenaw Counties, over 100 onsite disposal systems have been identified as failing and most have been corrected.

• The Rouge Steering Committee met on May 18, 2000. Issues discussed included the status of state legislation on basement flooding liability and SSO reporting, Rouge watershed signage, and grant administration and reporting by local communities involved with the General Permit activities funded by the Rouge River project. The SSO Prevention Subcommittee of the Steering Committee met regularly during the second quarter to discuss case studies on the Oakland County Evergreen Farmington system, the North Huron Valley system and the development of its subcommittee report scheduled for July 2000.
• DOE made arrangements to forward its final draft storm water administrative rule, technical guidelines and ordinance to the County Commission Committee on Drains and the Environment during early August 2000.
• The Steering Committee subcommittee on Sanitary Sewer Overflows completed their work on the document, "Sanitary Sewer Overflows: A Strategy for Action".
• At a hearing of the US District Court on June 6, 2000, MDEQ reported that it has now issued 40 Certificates of Coverage to communities in the Rouge watershed. Applications are expected shortly from Troy and Rochester Hills. SEMCOG presented a report to the Court on, "Issues to be Resolved in Restoration of the Rouge River: A Blueprint for Action". This report identifies outstanding issues, progress that has been made, technical and financial issues and a strategy for action to continue progress in restoration of the Rouge River. Reports were also heard from SEMCOG on the progress of basement flooding legislation and from Wayne, Washtenaw and Oakland counties on the progress of their respective programs for on-site sewage disposal. In January 2000, Wayne and Washtenaw counties implemented inspections for on-site sewage disposal systems at the time of property sale. Oakland County continues to seek the input from its Board of Commissioners on a county-wide approach. Meanwhile, Oakland County supports individual actions by its cities, villages and townships.

Please address all comments and suggestions about the contents of this Web page to rougeweb@co.wayne.mi.us.

The Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project is funded, in part, by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grants #XP995743-01, -02, -03, -04, -05, -06, -08 and C-264000-01.