^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

EPA Makes Right Choice on Stormwater Runoff Regulations
In June 2002, EPA proposed three alternative regulatory strategies for storm water runoff from construction sites. The three alternatives were proposed under the effluent guidelines provisions of the Clean Water Act. Two alternative strategies would impose additional federal requirements on construction sites. The third would rely on existing federal requirements combined with state and local regulation. EPA recently selected the third alternative strategy because any additional federal regulation would be redundant. State and local governments are already doing more than EPA's most stringent federal regulatory proposal. As EPA explained:

After careful study, we determined that almost every state has requirements in place that are equivalent to or even more protective than those contained in this proposal. In addition, over 5000 municipalities are currently developing or upgrading local programs and requirements for construction site runoff.