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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, AGC persuaded EPA to make all of the following changes that AGC’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

Notwithstanding AGC’s successes, compliance with the 2012 CGP will require substantially greater cost and effort. Most of the new or expanded requirements are deemed by the agency to be necessary to implement the non-numeric provisions in its 2009 “Effluent Limitations Guidelines” for the “Construction & Development Industry” (C&D ELG rule) – which the agency has not suspended, and are still in effect. Read all the details concerning this important development and about AGC’s efforts by clicking . For more information contact Leah Pilconis at Pilconis@agc.org or Jimmy Christianson at christiansonj@agc.org.��