EPA Withdraws Significant Portion of Storm Water Regulations in Court Case

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

broken silt fenceThe US EPA was forced to withdraw a portion of its proposed storm water management regulations in the context of a pending court challenge by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and other parties.  In the pending appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the EPA filed an unopposed motion to vacate part of its final rule regarding "Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category".

The rule proposed to establish a numeric effluent limitation on pollutants from construction and development.  The rule limited turbidity to an average daily level of 280 "nephelometric turbidity units" (NTUs).  EPA concedes in its motion that, "[T]he Agency has concluded that it improperly interpreted the data and, as a result, the calculations in the existing administrative record are no longer adequate to support ..." the rule.

While we are not in a technical position to evaluate engineering and cost impacts of these regulations, NAHB has quoted, and ABC has supported, an estimate of up to $10 billion in cost annually to meet the overall national regulations as proposed by EPA.  We just commented on the regulations generally last week and we believe this is a very significant issue for the construction and development industry.  Ann Cosby at Sand Anderson's Environmental Law blog has a nice summary post of the negotiations in Virginia over sediment limits for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

By agreement, the motion requested that the case be held in abeyance for 18 months until February 15, 2012, to allow EPA to address the flaw.  It will be quite interested to see whether the partial retreat by EPA sets off a chain reaction of challenges or delays in other aspects of the pending regulations.

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ABC-VA Headquarters: Aiming for LEED Gold

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

ABC-VA HeadquartersAssociated Builders & Contractors Virginia Chapter (ABC-VA) has officially opened its quite impressive new headquarters location.  The building project was managed by J.J. McCarthy as owner's representative, head of its green building committee.  The project featured numerous ABC member contractors and design professionals, including BE&K Building Group as general contractor and Morgan Gick McBeath & Associates, P.C. as architects. 

The project is in the running for a LEED gold rating at this point which is truly remarkable given that it is built as the first property in an office park well outside of Dulles Airport.  Forget about going for sustainable sites credits, surrounding density, and available subway transportation lines that provide so many easy points for urban setting LEED projects.

The project incorporates a lot of interesting features (outlined complete with photos in this detailed presentation), some of them quite cutting edge, including:

  1. Using pervious concrete for the parking area, eliminating storm drains and piping and reducing heat island effect;
  2. Using rapidly renewable resources, including not just bamboo flooring but also bamboo cabinets;
  3. Use of low VOC carpets and paint;
  4. Dramatic reduction of energy usage (17%), including use of LED lighting, T-5 lighting, motion sensors, daylighting, solar hot water heating, and exterior glare and heat load reduction via sun shields;
  5. Dramatic reduction of water usage (44%), including dual flush toilets and waterless urinals;
  6. Extensive use of recycled materials;
  7. Installation of a white roof;
  8. Extensive diversion of waste from landfills by recycling (estimated at 90% of waste from the project recycled).

The project highlights how a shared vision and team philosophy amongst the owner, contractor and design professionals can really translate to dramatic success.  Handling a project as mutual members of an organization for that organization helps create that environment, but those shared values and an attitude of mutual respect and success can be fostered on other projects.  ABC-VA deserves tremendous kudos for pushing its vision of sustainable construction as well, this project really is worth visiting to check out in person.

Photo by

Eric Taylor

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