The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized its (CGP). The CGP applies to and authorizes stormwater discharges from construction projects that disturb one or more acres of land in the areas where EPA is the permitting authority.
While far more burdensome than the agency’s old permit, the new permit is a far cry from the one that EPA proposed in April 2011. Specifically, ѻý persuaded EPA to make all of the following changes that ѻý’s Environmental Forum considered most important:
- Omitting numeric turbidity limits or monitoring requirements;
- Eliminating “benchmark” limits or monitoring requirements for discharges to impaired waters;
- Including flexibility for contractors to meet permit requirements; and
- Excluding electronic or online reporting of stormwater data