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EPA Issues New Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Sites
Alert
02.17.2012
On February 16, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was issuing a new stormwater construction general permit (CGP) under the Clean Water Act. It replaces and updates EPA's existing 2008 CGP, which expired on February 15, 2012.
EPA's new permit includes a number of enhanced protections for surface waters, including provisions to protect impaired and sensitive waters. It also implements new effluent limitations guidelines and new source performance standards for the construction and development industry, including pollution control techniques to decrease erosion and sediment pollution. It also makes sites using certain treatment chemicals ineligible for general permit coverage unless specifically authorized by EPA.
The new permit provides some increased flexibility for operators. It will allow emergency projects (for example, restoration following a flood or other natural disaster) to begin immediately without permit authorization from EPA (although, once initiated, the applicable permit standards will apply to these projects and will be enforced by EPA). The new permit also enables operators of already permitted projects a degree of flexibility where compliance with a new permit requirement is economically impracticable.
The 2012 CGP will be effective only in those areas where EPA is the permitting authority. In New England, this includes Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as certain Indian lands. Maine's construction general permit was issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) in 2003 and it has been administratively continued since it expired in 2008. Now that EPA has issued its 2012 CGP, we can expect to see the Maine DEP revisit and update Maine's permit.
Questions?
For more information, please contact Sharon Newman.