The Stormwater Standard
by: J.W. Lemons and R. Scott
Stormwater Environmental Compliance Alliance, LLC
October 2008
Follow the MONEY $$$:
LOTS OF IT: Four of the nation’s largest home builders have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $4.3 million to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. The companies also have agreed to implement company-wide compliance programs that go beyond current regulatory requirements and put controls in place that will keep 1.2 billion pounds of sediment from polluting the nation’s waterways each year. The EPA requires that construction sites obtain permits and take simple, basic steps to prevent pollutants from contaminating storm water and harming our nation’s waterways, said “G.Y. Nakayama, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
The homebuilders are
KB Homes: $1,185,000
Pulte: $877,000
Richmond American: $795,000.
Ouch.
New & Notable:
2008 has been The Perfect Storm for Stormwater in Texas. First, Phase II cities are now required to comply with the Clean Water Act. The rest of the United States got on board in 2003, but here in Texas, we fought against forcing smaller cities to oversee and enforce compliance with the Construction General Permit. But the National Association of Homebuilders and the State of Texas fought the Law, and the Law won. Effective as of February 13, 2008, Phase II cities are required to, among other things, police construction site runoff. So now there will be additional enforcement and inspections from additional jurisdictions that were not enforcing before.
Then in March the Construction General Permit was renewed for the first time in five years – with some fairly significant changes. The short story: if you have any outstanding Notices of Intent (NOIs) that were submitted prior to March 5, 2008 – those are no longer in effect. YOU MUST RENEW YOUR NOI for any site that has not reached 70% stabilization (and, of course, pay a new fee). You also MUST POST A NEW CONSTRUCTION SITE NOTICE and UPDATE YOUR SWPPP TO COMPLY WITH THE NEW CGP.
Places to Go:
There’s still time to register! And it’s local, so you’ll save on gas! The 2008 Sunbelt Builders Show is this November 6th thru 8th. Hosted by the National Association of Home Builders and Texas Association of Builders, it takes place at the Gaylord Texan Resort on Grapevine Lake. Over 200 vendors (including SECA! Come see us in Booth # 740) and dozens of educational opportunities.
Emmett Smith is this year’s Keynote Speaker!
Check it out at: www.sunbeltbuildersshow.com
Legal Line:
Section 309(c)(4) of the Clean Water Act provides that any person who knowingly makes any false material statement, representation, or certification in any record or other document submitted or required to be maintained under this permit, including reports of compliance or noncompliance shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or by both.
In other words, if you get caught – don’t LIE and don’t FALSIFY!
Fess up, take your licks, and do it right the next time.
SWPPP Tip:
Don’t use your BMP Map as an Inspection Report! It needs to be updated as your site develops and erosion control needs change, but it also needs to be LEGIBLE.
If the TCEQ can’t even READ it, do you think they’ll accept it?
BMP Blurb:
Training: The BEST BMP. RECORD ALL YOUR TRAINING, BOTH EMPLOYEE and SUBS, IN YOUR SWPPP. Loads of training opportunities are available in the DFW Metroplex! Check out the City of Dallas’ excellent stormwater website: www. wheredoesitgo.com. Also, the North Central Texas Council of Governments at www.nctcog.org. And Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at www.tceq.state.tx.us. The EPA has live, as well as archived, stormwater webcasts at www.epa.gov. And, of course, call JW at 817.715.8078 for group classes or one-on-one on-site training. One of our classes is now approved by the Texas Residential Construction Commission for continuing ed- including for the Texas Star Builder Program.
Call us now for your Stormwater Solutions!
