An historic photo of a ditch in Sacramento County, Calif. (Library of Congress photo)

Regulators Backing Down From Ditch Oversight

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to stop enforcing the so-called Philadelphia Ditch Rule, under which it had asserted jurisdiction to regulate common roadside ditches as "navigable waters."

The decision provides further indication that the Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are beginning to reassess how builders and developers should be regulated under the Clean Water Act, following the recent Supreme Court decision in the Rapanos and Carabell cases.

In New Mexico, the Corps on July 20 withdrew a previous requirement for a Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands permit it had imposed on Sivage Community Development, which has been planning to build a community on a 354-acre plot near the town of Los Lunas. ...

Demolition of Miami's historic Hotel Everglades makes way for luxury condos. (Photo: Jorge Perez, City of Miami)

Florida’s Hurricane Season a Time to Wait for Home Sales Recovery

Florida’s housing industry appears poised for a return to growth in 2007, possibly as early as the first quarter, but first builders will have to work off a growing inventory in a chilly sales environment and return to a more customer-friendly approach to selling homes in the process, according to market analysts appearing at the Florida Home Builders Association’s (FHBA) Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) in Orlando, Fla. on Aug. 5.

Builders are also hoping for a respite during this year’s hurricane season from the major storms that have pounded states in the Gulf Coast for the past couple of years. In addition to destroying or damaging some 750,000 homes in the region last year, the hurricanes have given northerners pause about relocating to traditional retirement areas and have sent home owner insurance costs skyrocketing. ...

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