'Just Say No' To Numeric Limit, Advanced Treatment Requirement for Construction Site Runoff

Use AGC'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.  AGC Chapters and Members can easily send customized comments to EPA using a template letter on the AGC Web site. EPA is currently under a court order to publish a final ELG for the "construction and development" industry by Dec. 1, 2009.  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.  The rule will have a direct and significant impact on virtually all aspects of the construction industry. EPA is considering three regulatory options:

1. Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e., BMPs);
2. 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
3. Prescriptive sediment and erosion controls (i.e., BMPs) PLUS a numeric turbidity standard for all sites that disturb at least 10 acres.

For Options 2 & 3, EPA has proposed a strict compliance limit on the amount of turbidity (13 nephelometric turbidity units [NTU]) that may be present in stormwater discharges.  Construction site operators would need to monitor their stormwater runoff and use active chemical treatment and filtration systems (ATS), which would cost between $15-45K per acre, according to industry estimates (even EPA puts the cost at $7,000 per acre).  Click here to use the AGC Web site to tell EPA that nationwide numeric limits and advanced treatment are not suitable to construction. For additional information on EPA's ELG proposal, AGC's position, and recent AGC action click here.  Contact Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org if you have any questions.