On Jan. 14, AGC hosted representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, General Services Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in a roundtable discussion with industry groups on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration of new nationwide rules that would expand and strengthen the current federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Program requirements. Specifically, EPA is looking at expanding the LRRP Program to include renovations of both the exteriors and interiors of public and commercial buildings.

Stormwater Flow Rate Is Not a "Surrogate" for Controlling Sediment Runoff AGC is closely examining a landmark court decision rejecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempt to use stormwater flow rate as a surrogate pollutant in a TMDL (total maximum daily load) case. In this key decision handed down by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a federal judge ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not authorize EPA to limit “stormwater flow” [in lieu of regulating sediment discharges] in TMDLs because such flow itself is not a pollutant (Virginia DOT v. EPA, E.D. Va., No. 1:12-cv-775, 1/3/13). Click here to read the court decision.

On Jan. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reached a decision in the L.A. County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Inc. case that could have had vast consequences for stormwater systems and other water infrastructure across the country (No. 11-460, decided Jan. 8, 2013).  It is a short opinion (9-0, Alito concurring) that focused solely on the determination that water flowing from one part of a waterway to another part of the same waterway cannot result in the discharge of a pollutant (consistent with the Court's prior Miccosukee opinion).  Click here to read the entire opinion. 

Last week, the National Association of Home Builders (and other parties) announced a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding their long-standing lawsuit over the 2009 “Effluent Limitations Guidelines” for the “Construction Development Industry” (C&D ELG) rule. EPA will undertake a new rulemaking in the near term to "scrap the turbidity limit altogether" and to modify several of the mandatory “non-numeric” Best Management Practices (BMP) requirements that currently form the basis of the 2009 rule. Click here to read the signed settlement document.

After nearly four years, Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has announced her departure from the nation’s top environmental post. Jackson has said she will step down following President Obama’s State of the Union address in January. Jackson, the former commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, has often been a polarizing figure to many in the environmental and business communities.

Overall Agency Supports Many of AGC’s Positions In response to a court ordered deadline, on Dec. 14 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to require a 20 percent reduction in the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) allowed in outdoor air through the entire country. The current standard has been in place since 1997. Reduction in the emission of fine particulate matter is expected to come chiefly from diesel engines and coal-fired power generation plants. States must meet the standard by 2020 or face penalties. The standard will make it harder for some industries to expand operations without strict pollution controls.

In this issue of the Observer, AGC’s Environmental Forum Steering Committee Chairman Connie Determan provides construction companies with a resource for developing an environmental program that supports environmental compliance and achievement of company objectives.  “The Contractor Guide to Developing an Environmental Program” was developed through the collaborative effort of construction companies located in the United States for the purpose of supporting the environmental performance of the projects they perform.

Farming and development groups have joined wastewater agencies in defending the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against threats to the legality of its water quality trading (cap and trade) program—a key part of its Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan (Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL), finalized back in 2010.  Food and Water Watch and Friends of the Earth filed suit against the Agency on Oct. 3 claiming that the trading scheme violates the Clean Water Act and will worsen water quality in the Bay and nationwide.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized its reinterpretation of the Agency’s policy regarding Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) contaminated building materials.  The “PCB Bulk Product Waste Reinterpretation” addresses the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requirements governing the disposal of building debris that has been in contact with non-liquid PCBs such as PCB-containing caulk and paint.

Companies marketing their services or products as “environmental friendly” will have to qualify their statements, in light of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) newly updated Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims.  Last revised in 1998, the 2012 “Green Guides” describe the types of claims the FTC may or may not find deceptive.  Although, the guides themselves are not independently enforceable, the FTC can take enforcement action against deceptive claims.