New Wetlands Mitigation Rule April 3, 2008
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
Based on recommendations from the National Research Council (NRC), the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have issued new standards regarding wetland mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. According to the EPA, the changes will “promote no net loss of wetlands” and the agency has issued several resources to help promote understanding of the rule change.
Surveying the cost of the Clean Water Act January 25, 2008
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
How much does it cost to implement the Clean Water Act? Approximately $202.5 billion, according to a US Environmental Protection Agency report in 2004. Cost estimates are updated every four years by the agency as a part of the Clean Watersheds Needs Survey Report to Congress (CWNS). The survey is an assessment of the capital needed to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act. (more…)
EPA fines Hunt Building Co. for Colo. stormwater pollution January 15, 2008
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
Release date: 12/27/2007
(Denver, Colo., Dec. 27, 2007) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined and Hunt Building Co. of El Paso, Tex., has paid $39,000 for stormwater violations at the Buckley Housing Project on Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo. (more…)
“EPA fines Pocatello construction site in Idaho” January 11, 2008
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
In a press release dated 1/8/08, the EPA announced that it has fined several construction sites in Idaho for failure to meet federal storm water requirements. The fines were issued during recent inspections conducted by EPA Region 10, and the penalties ranged from $4,000 to $14,000. The inspections are a part of a multi-year plan by the EPA to assess compliance with the nationwide storm water Construction General Permit in Idaho. (more…)
Congress approves water resources funding November 13, 2007
Posted by rachelankerholz in Legislative Update.add a comment
Overriding a veto by President Bush, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007 (H.R. 1495) on Nov. 6 and the Senate followed suit on Nov. 8. Votes in both houses significantly exceeded the two-thirds majority needed for a veto override: The House passed it by a 361-to-54 vote; the Senate by 79 to 14.
Court Rules it Illegal to Permit New Discharges into Already-Contaminated Waters October 10, 2007
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cannot issue a permit allowing more pollution into a waterway that already fails water quality standards unless there’s a cleanup first, a federal appeals court ruled.
In a unanimous ruling, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said the EPA improperly issued a permit under the federal Clean Water Act to Carlota Copper Co. to allow discharges of copper into Pinto Creek, Arizona, USA. (more…)
Water Resources Development Act Passes to President October 1, 2007
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
Having passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, the Water Resources Development Act now awaits the signature of the President before becoming law. Sponsored by Representative Jim Oberstar, the bill provides for a wide range of projects related to the conservation and development of water, and also authorizes the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, including adjustments for increases in anticipated inflation, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing H.R. 1495 would cost about $6.7 billion over the 2008-2012 period and an additional $6.5 billion over the 10 years after 2012.
Trouble Downstream: Study Finds Agricultural Erosion Control in the U.S. to be Inadequate September 17, 2007
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
Sediment from farms along the (U.S.) Mississippi River and its tributaries is feeding algae that create the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental group’s study shows. The group concludes that the agricultural conservation compliance program is missing cost-effective opportunities to make further, substantial reductions in soil erosion on U.S. cropland, and calls on Congress to require more environmental protection from farmers in exchange for federal farm subsidies. (more…)
Texas Releases Draft of TPDES Construction General Permit September 11, 2007
Posted by ieca in Call to Action, Legislative Update.add a comment
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has released its draft TPDES Construction General Permit for Permit reauthorization. The draft permit can be reviewed at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/permitting/waterquality/attachments/stormwater/txr15draft.pdf
The South Central Chapter of IECA (SCIECA) will be collecting comments from members to compile as a SCIECA official comments submittal to the TCEQ. If you would like to provide your comments to include in the SCIECA comments submittal, please send them to Tom Schneider at CGP2008@stormcon.us.
Deadline to submit comments to SCIECA: September 24, 2007. This will allow SCIECA time to compile the comments and forward to the TCEQ to meet the TCEQ comments deadline of October 3, 2007.
U.S. Water Resources Development Act of 2007 Gets Green Light August 2, 2007
Posted by ieca in Legislative Update.add a comment
After the U.S. Water Resources Development Act of 2007 passed in both the Senate (May 16, 2007) and House of Representatives (April 19, 2007), a conference committee was created to work out differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. A conference report resolving those differences passed in the House of Representatives on August 1, 2007, paving the way for enactment of the bill.
