Background
Anne Arundel County Practices and Procedures Manual (Manual) requires capacity and stability analysis of downstream conveyances as a part of the downstream analysis and determination of adequate outfall. A photo walking tour is required to document conditions from the site outfall to the POI. Additionally, the location and direction of the photographs must be indicated on the approved plan.
Purpose
The Manual establishes criteria for assessing the adequacy of the outfall by requiring the applicant to perform a downstream analysis to evaluate the capacity and stability of downstream conveyances. Establishing stability and capacity currently relies on the first step of adequately locating all the analysis/investigation points and accurately identifying the extent of the downstream reach to be investigated.
This first step serves as the basis for performing the photographic tour, stability analysis/determination, and capacity evaluation. The stability determination is based on visual inspections of the photographic tour and the explanations provided by the applicant’s engineer. Currently, the presentation of these materials is not standardized.
Standardized guidance, including term definitions, clarification of the exemption criteria, and an example with step-by-step instructions, has been developed to assist engineers with the preparation of the downstream investigation. These resources are available in the Downstream Investigation Guidance .
This memo is not intended to replace requirements in the Manual; instead, it clarifies and summarizes these requirements and provides supplemental guidance. This is expected to improve common understanding, leading to better efficiency and less review time/cycles.
Timing
This guidance is effective for all projects that have not submitted a downstream investigation and a photo tour by the effective date of this memo. This office encourages the use of this guidance for all projects going through the review process as much as possible, as this is intended to help all involved in the process. This office has worked with the development community regarding this guidance, and we appreciate the collaboration.