The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has a new storm water program coordinator.
David Schelling will start as the new storm water coordinator for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System section Nov. 11.
Based in Polk City, Schelling has spent the past 17 years working for the state of Iowa - half with the department as an industrial NPDES permit writer and half with the State Hygienic Laboratory in the Limnology department. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in animal ecology from Iowa State University.
With the hire, the department is looking to put an increased emphasis on outreach to communities and stakeholders. As storm water coordinator, Schelling hopes to increase engagement with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities and improve individual permits to make them easier to understand and implement. Staff will also be working to improve the user experience of the online storm water permitting application.
“I want the role to evolve to a partner to the people utilizing the permits,” he said.