HB 881 - Detention and Retention Ponds

• Establishes safety requirements for retention ponds, detention ponds, and catchment area ponds constructed after December 31, 2009, including four-foot minimum fencing with locked gates, hazard warning signs, emergency flotation devices, and safety ramps.

• Requires a 100-foot buffer zone between ponds and schools, child care facilities, homes, parks, athletic fields, and neighborhoods, with trails and sidewalks separated by at least 25 feet from storm water detention facilities.

• Mandates annual safety inspections by the Department of Health to ensure ponds comply with adopted maintenance plans and pertinent rules, with violations subject to administrative fines.

• Requires all new ponds to have maintenance plans including design drawings, safety features, operational records, and adequate drainage designed to best practices standards for wet-detention and dry-retention systems.

• Appropriates funding for a nine-member retention and detention pond task force appointed by the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources to study pond issues and recommend legislation; incorporates pond safety into the Department of Education's water safety curriculum.