Use ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'s Regulatory Action Center to Submit Your Comments Today!
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed tighter controls on stormwater discharges from construction sites - called effluent limitation guidelines (ELG).  The proposed ELG tells contractors how to control sediment discharges from their sites, at an annual cost of $1.9 billion.  Comments are due by February 26, 2009. .
EPA is currently under a court order to publish a final ELG for the "construction and development" industry by Dec. 1, 2009. Â Once finalized, the new regulations will be incorporated into all state and federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for the discharge of stormwater from construction activities. Â The rule will have a direct and significant impact on virtually all aspects of the construction industry.
EPA is considering three regulatory options:
- Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e., BMPs);
- Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e., BMPs) PLUS a numeric turbidity standard for construction on certain larger sites that meet rainfall and soil-type conditions; or
- Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e., BMPs) PLUS a numeric turbidity standard for all sites that disturb at least 10 acres.