Builders Blast Inconsistencies in Wetlands Regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have a dismal track record for providing consistent and predictable jurisdictional decisions on wetlands permits and instead give property owners the run-around, according to NAHB President Bobby Rayburn.
“It is increasingly difficult to get a straightforward answer from either agency to questions as simple as which portions of your property are federally regulated wetlands and which are not,” said Rayburn. He also submitted written comments to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment for a hearing on March 27.
Frequently cited during the hearing was a recent report by the General Accounting Office concluding that the agencies have been irresponsible in their regulation of wetlands and waters of the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and documenting that the Corps districts’ regulatory practices are not even written down. (To read the report, click here and search for GAO-04-297 from February 2004.)
At the hearing, it was apparent that home builders and developers are not alone in their frustration over the lack of clear regulatory guidance from the agencies. The National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, the Maryland Contractors Association, Bronco Construction and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture voiced concern over the vagaries of the wetlands permitting process.