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NAHB Takes Issue With New Construction General Permit
Close to the expiration date, the U.S. Evironmental Protection Agency has proposed extending its Construction General Permit for two years. The permit allows home builders and developers to work on construction and development sites from which sediment can run off during rainfall.
In comments on the proposal, NAHB noted its concern about a possible gap in coverage for some applicants when the current permit expires on July 1 and the agency continues to respond to public comments. The association also said that the EPA had missed opportunities to make it easier for builders to comply with the regulation.
Those who are caught in the gap without the general permit they need for construction activities “may be required to apply for an individual permit or face stiff CWA penalties,” the letter said.
“This ‘gap’ in permit coverage, during which time no new general permits can be issued, will result in builders having to delay or forego projects or to wade though a lengthy, extensive and inappropriate individual permit process prior to commencing construction projects,” it continued. “As a result, any gap will simply and effectively halt development, and not promote clean water, as intended by the statute.”
NAHB’s response to the EPA is part of a larger association effort to educate its members about storm water permit compliance and to convince regulators that clearer rules are needed.
Construction General Permits are used in Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico and U.S. territories and federal lands. The remaining states have taken over the permitting process from the federal government, but must look to the EPA permit when updating theirs.
NAHB noted it was pleased that the EPA is considering promoting Qualifying Local Program (QLP) permits in lieu of duplicative federal permits, but it said that the proposed criteria included by the EPA for the local permits “add an unnecessary regulatory specificity and review burdens to the QLP approval process.”
Permits for Single Lots
The EPA has not considered a five-year-old NAHB proposal for a new permit for builders constructing homes on a single lot within a subdivision. This single-lot permit would be more appropriate than the existing permit, which is designed for storm water discharges from larger developments; and delaying its consideration for at least another two years “is frustrating to say the least,” the comments said.
Pointing out another shortcoming of the general permit, NAHB said that permits are required of builders who can demonstrate that their storm water retention plans or geographic features of the site ensure there is no runoff.
“There is no mechanism in place by which a discharger may certify or otherwise notify the agency that no storm water will exit the site,” the letter said. Without providing a way to demonstrate that there will be no runoff, the EPA “assumes everyone has or needs a permit.”
Making Sense of Storm Water
The EPA has no reliable figures on the rate of compliance with its storm water discharge regulations, an indication of the patchwork of regulatory and compliance issues that exists across the country.
Enforcement varies state by state and jurisdiction by jurisdiction, depending on how agency officials interpret the regulations; and rules that might apply to developments on certain soils in rainy climates have no application in the dry, sandy Southwest, the association said.
NAHB continues to update materials for builders to help them stay in compliance at www.nahb.org/stormwatertoolkit.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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