Storm Water – Page 3 – Indiana Constructors, Inc.

ICI and ACEC comment on EPA’s Draft 2017 General Permit

Posted on May 13, 2016March 7, 2018 by Dan Osborn

EPA is preparing to reissue the Construction General Permit. The general permit, issued under the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, authorizes stormwater discharges from construction activities. Learn more about it from the EPA or AGC of America.

ICI partnered with ACEC Indiana to submit the following comments on behalf of the industry:

Comments regarding U.S. EPA’s Draft 2017 General Permit
EPA-HQ-OW-2015-0828
Offered by: Indiana Constructors, Inc. and American Council of Engineering Companies of Indiana
Date: May 10, 2016

Public Accessibility (Online) of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) Information
SWPPPs are fluid documents that are modified to accommodate changed conditions, utilities and multi-phase construction. Public access to the initial SWPPP will create issues for taxpayers, owners, designers, and contractors due to costly delays and production interference as owners/operators, designers and contractors will be forced to respond to unsolicited public oversite and scrutiny based off of initial SWPPP documents that do not reflect the current work site conditions.

Public Notice of Permit Coverage
EPA proposes a new requirement that the permittee’s sign/posting (or other public notice) of permit coverage must also include information informing the public on how to contact EPA if storm water pollution is observed in the discharge. There were 1,725 permits open during 2015 in Indiana. We recommend that the EPA remove this proposed requirement due to the potential inquiry backlog that could be generated from posting EPA’s contact information at every permitted site.

More Frequent Site Inspections
We request that EPA provide evidence that substantiates the lower inspection trigger threshold as observations in Indiana do not warrant such a significant increase in inspection frequency. Decreasing the inspection trigger threshold from .5 to .25 inches is a very significant change. For example, in review of two Indiana locations (Plainfield and Ft. Wayne) and their respective daily rainfall measurements between March 15, 2015 and November 15, 2015, the number of rainfall events over .5 inches were 28 (Plainfield) and 17 (Ft. Wayne). The rainfall events over .25 inches were 48 and 36, respectively. If the State of Indiana adopts the .25 inch threshold, contractors would be required to increase inspections by around 90%, using the example locations. To put this in terms of dollars, the cost to project owners and taxpayers, will be in the millions of dollars per year in Indiana.

Numeric Reporting Requirements vs. BMPs
It is critically important to industry that, in the final regulatory text, EPA clearly state that numeric permit requirements are not mandatory. Industry is concerned about proposed modifications to the current regulations at 40 C.F.R. § 122.34 that would delete the word “narrative” as it relates to effluent limitations, and also delete the additional explanatory text that “BMPs are generally the most appropriate form of effluent limits.” Again, we oppose these changes, which directly contradict CWA intent, fall outside the scope of the court’s remand and are improper actions for this rule-making. We request that EPA retain the above-referenced language in the final rule to make clear that effluent limitations may be in the form of non-numeric BMPs.

Construction vs. Real Estate Development Industries
The construction and real estate development industries are separate and distinct from each other; contractors cannot warrant the post-construction performance of storm water controls that others design, operate and maintain. Storm water BMPs are designed and constructed per known conditions. Future performance of properly designed and constructed BMPs and storm water controls systems can be negatively affected by post-construction modifications to on-site and off-site characteristics. Industry is increasingly concerned about scenarios that would burden the contractor with the long-term, legal liability for the performance of permanent storm water controls after the design and/or construction firm leaves the project.

Expanded and Transparent (Online) NOI Reporting
We will be interested in the ease of use of electronic reporting tools and will be motivated to provide feedback on future EPA drafts regarding this topic.

Thank you for considering our comments.

Dan Osborn		Beth Bauer, CAE
Director of Government Affairs		Executive Director
Indiana Constructors, Inc.		American Council of Engineering Companies of Indiana
One N. Capitol Ave., Ste. 1000		55 Monument Circle, Ste. 819
Indianapolis, IN 46204		Indianapolis, IN 46204

INDOT releases Construction Memo 16-04

Posted on May 10, 2016March 7, 2018 by Andria Hine

On May 10, INDOT released Construction Memo 16-04 Field Assistant for Stormwater, Erosion, and Sediment Control Inspection Reports. Any questions or comments should be directed to the Division of Construction Management.

ICI to host two storm water management courses in June

Posted on April 27, 2016March 7, 2018 by Andria Hine

In 2015 INDOT adopted the trial Quality Control Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control RSP (Recurring Special Provision) 205-R-261, used only on a select few contracts in calendar year 2015.

The INDOT Standards Committee recently adopted an update to this RSP that will become effective on Sept. 1, 2016. INDOT will use the revised RSP on all contracts and increase the responsibilities of temporary erosion control management by the contractor. The new specification language includes a contractor-provided Storm Water Quality Manager (SWQM). The SWQM is responsible for implementing the Storm Water Quality Control Plan (including SWPPP if required), inspections and reporting. There are two SWQM qualification levels. Level One must have successfully completed INDOT’s Storm Water Management Training course. Level Two includes Level One requirements and a national erosion control inspector certification such as the CESSWI (Certified Erosion, Sediment and Storm Water Inspector provided by Envirocert) or CISEC (Certified Inspector of Sediment and Erosion Control).

ICI hosted a CESSWI exam review course in the spring of 2015. To prepare for the RSP in all contracts after September 1, we’re hosting two courses – Tuesday, June 14 in Logansport or Thursday, June 23 in Bloomington.

Thank you to our sponsors for providing food and beverages for the classes:

Contractor Input Needed for Draft 2017 Construction General Permit

Posted on April 18, 2016March 7, 2018 by Andria Hine

U.S. EPA Proposes Draft, Gives Short 45-Day Comment Period

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public input on its proposed 2017 Construction General Permit, which authorizes stormwater discharge from construction sites. Although the Agency’s general permit directly applies in only a handful of states and territories, it serves as a national model for state-issued Construction General Permits. AGC needs your help in crafting comments on how the proposed permit will significantly impact construction operations and overall environmental management on regulated construction sites. Please provide any comments to Leah Pilconis by May 6. AGC has prepared a discussion document to facilitate members’ input.

Attend Storm Water Training Sessions

Posted on March 30, 2016March 7, 2018 by Andria Hine

INDOT Offers Storm Water Management Training Training sessions will be from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the following locations:

INDOT asks that if you’re signing up more than one individual for the training, use the actual participant’s email during the registration process.

EnviroCert Updated Its PDH Policy on March 1

Posted on March 16, 2016March 7, 2018 by Andria Hine

ICI members who attended the Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI) certification review and exam session in 2015 need to take a look at EnviroCert’s revised professional development hours policy here.