Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Federal Environment & Infrastructure News


More Challenges to Stormwater Rules

We previously posted about the court overturn of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that limited stormwater discharges.  It looks like federal stormwater rules will get an overhaul by next year.

EPA recently entered an agreement to settle a lawsuit brought by the National Homebuilders Association, Utility Water Act Group, and Wisconsin Builders Association. These groups challenged rules that established national numeric limits on stormwater discharges. EPA agreed to remove the numeric limits and clarify requirements related to best management practices.

This does not mean the end of numeric limits on pollutants in stormwater.  Anticipate permits for stormwater discharges to continue to have numeric limits, but limits based on state water quality standards rather than a uniform national standard.

Related posts and articles

More Reactions to the State of the State

Infrastructure USA put together a nice summary of responses to the State of the Union from several infrastructure stakeholder organizations.

More River Problems

We’ve been covering the problems the drought has caused shipping on the Mississippi River. This is just one issue in the larger context of infrastructure on our inland rivers. Our major rivers are our oldest highways and they continue to serve as affordable pathways to transport masses of goods.  Sea Power has a good article on this issues.

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