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ARTICLE · 08 MAY 2012

EPA Really Doesn't Seem Eager To Issue A Post-Construction Stormwater Rule

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On Friday, E&E News reported that EPA had – for the fifth time – missed its deadline for proposing regulations governing stormwater discharge from post-construction activities.

United StatesEnvironment
Seth Jaffe
Seth Jaffe
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On Friday, E&E News reported that EPA had – for the fifth time – missed its deadline for proposing regulations governing stormwater discharge from post-construction activities. Apparently, EPA and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which was the plaintiff in the original litigation, are negotiating a new deadline. Good luck with that.

EPA is not in a good place at the moment. There is significant congressional opposition to any rule, with comments questioning not just the wisdom of a rule, but EPA's authority to issue a post-construction rule at this point. Addressing stormwater will undoubtedly be extremely expensive. The same E&E story noted that EPA just approved a new stormwater plan for Philadelphia with an expected price tag of $2.4 billion. Even though the Philadelphia plan is a separate issue from regulation of post-construction discharges, it does give some idea of the economic magnitude of the issue.

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