E&E News recently reported that the EPA – for the fifth time running – missed its own deadline for issuing proposed regulations relating to stormwater discharge from post-construction activities. The EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the plaintiff in the original litigation regarding construction stormwater discharge, are negotiating yet another new deadline.
Part of the issue appears to be a challenge to the EPA’s authority to issue a post-construction rule, and addressing stormwater discharge will be extremely expensive to owners. Apparently the EPA recently approved a new stormwater plan for Philadelphia, and that stormwater plan came with an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. Though the Philadelphia stormwater runnoff plan is separate from the regulation of post-construction discharges, the cost of those regulations can be referred to give an idea of what the expense of the post-construction discharge regulations may be.
For those of you that may be impacted by any forthcoming proposed regulations – including everyone from municipalities, counties, States, private landowners, and contractors – you might want to put in a comment or two when they are finally released to attempt to avoid getting hit hard in the wallet.