Before the Storm
By Margot Carmichael Lester
This year, Pulte Homes handed over more than $1 million to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency cited the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., home builder for multiple stormwater management infractions at sites across the country, including discharge of untreated stormwater and improperly installed and maintained silt fences, sediment ponds, and washout basins. The builder agreed to pay a total of $1.485 million—$877,000 in civil penalties plus an additional $608,000 for a supplemental environmental project.
Pulte isn’t alone. Four other builders were slapped with fines in 2008. According to the EPA, other firms and fines included Centex, $1.4 million; KB Home, $1.1 million; Richmond, $795,000; and Colorado Structures, $300,000. With the nation increasingly focused on the environment, it’s no wonder the EPA is stepping up enforcement of the Clean Water Act. In 2006, the EPA identified home building and big-box construction as two areas in need of improved stormwater management. “The regulators made it clear—noncompliance would not be tolerated,” says Kevin Reisch, an associate at San Diego law firm DLA Piper.
With the tocsin sounded, developers are doing more than throwing up a silt fence and calling it a day. Many are taking a careful look at their stormwater management practices to make sure they’re rigorous enough for the regulators.
CREATE A “LIVING” PLAN
The Clean Water Act and associated local, state, and/or federal regulations require construction operators on sites of 1 acre or larger to obtain coverage under a national Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Under the NPDES program, the EPA or other authorized agencies issue one or several umbrella permits for stormwater discharge in association with construction activities for up to five years. To receive the required coverage, developers must create a stormwater pollution prevention plan that identifies potential sources of stormwater pollution; describes the practices that will be used to prevent it; details the construction operator’s procedures; and addresses long-term stormwater maintenance.
Without a thoughtfully designed plan, developers could create a situation that results in an even more catastrophic runoff problem. “Stormwater management is a process, not a one-time installation,” says Dan McNulty, chief operating officer of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Atwell-Hicks. “You have to think [it] through.”
Atwell-Hicks, a national land development consultant based in Tampa, Fla., recently designed such a plan for a large-format Midwest retail development. The plan was integrated into the site design process and spanned the life of the project. Among its elements: seeding any areas that would be bare for 14 days to mitigate runoff , stem erosion, and increase aesthetics, as well as constructing berms to guide runoff directly into sediment ponds for filtering before discharge into the stormwater system.
Developers who want to go beyond compliance are looking to water-sensitive urban design (WSUD), a methodology that integrates solutions for storm, waste, and potable water to minimize impacts and protect ecosystems. By following WSUD practices, developers can protect the quality of surface and ground waters; safeguard existing natural features; minimize demand for potable water; and reduce wastewater generation and discharge.
“Stormwater is a valuable resource to be utilized to its full extent,” says Kerry McWalter, an ecological engineer with San Francisco-based sustainable design firm EDA. “When incorporated from project initiation, water-sensitive urban design should not increase overall project costs.” The smarter design reduces the installation and operating costs associated with irrigation and piping and pumping systems.
TRAIN, COORDINATE, AND WAIT
Education is integral to sustaining a plan through the life of the project. “Plans won’t work if people on the site don’t understand it and aren’t complying with it,” says Karen ZoBell, a partner with DLA Piper, who adds that many of her clients designate an individual to manage regulations. “They may visit a site weekly or bi-weekly.”
To address past issues and enhance compliance, Pulte started the National Storm Water Quality Program (NSQP), a company-wide training, auditing, and compliance-monitoring initiative. “The NSQP establishes consistent practices at our construction sites nationwide and works to ensure stormwater is properly controlled,” says Mark Marymee, Pulte’s director of communications. “Approximately 2,500 Pulte employees have received training in the program to date. We also have a national director responsible for monitoring this comprehensive program.”
Unfortunately, even the best training efforts can’t prepare you for what lies ahead. At Post Park, an in-development, 396-unit apartment project with 1,750 square feet of retail in Hyattsville, Md., Post Properties not only had to manage stormwater but also fix a problem caused by someone else.
An eroded natural stream on the parcel was impacted by runoff from a nearby mall and restrictions imposed by parks bound the property on two sides. “We underwrote the deal knowing that correcting this environmental problem was going to be part of the deal,” says Wade Casstevens, Mid-Atlantic development director for Atlanta-based Post Properties. What the firm didn’t realize was the challenge of coordinating across multiple groups, including the Prince George’s County Department of environmental Responsibility, the Maryland State Highway Department, and several parks organizations. One six-month delay resulted from conflicting piping requirements and different definitions of the 100-year flood plain.
“Multiple sets of specs in one system took a lot of design finesse and patience,” Casstevens says. Under his direction, Post worked with Southborough, Mass.-based Bohler Engineering to design the stormwater system and secure approvals from the highway and environmental departments. Annapolis, Md.-based Environmental Systems Analysis handled the wetlands/stream bed work and approvals.
The divide-and-conquer strategy worked. The differences were resolved by increasing pipe size to accommodate more stringent standards. Addressing the runoff issues at the stream bed added $50,000 in consulting and design fees and $200,000 in hard construction costs. “We would love to do deals that were a lot simpler than this,” Casstevens admits. “But every deal has its hair.”
In Control
Three tips to help manage runoff.
■ Educate locally. Help counties better understand federal regulations, says Karen ZoBell, a partner
with law firm DLA Piper in San Diego. “If inspectors are out of compliance… it could be a problem.”
■ Use data. “Using historical rainfall data, we can calculate how much post-developed discharge will be
produced on a site and [then] size the basins,” says Beth Cerrone Kelly, project manager for St. Louis-based construction firm Clayco.
■ Do not disturb. Limit the amount of land disturbed. “[This] reduces the installation, operation, and
maintenance of controls,” says EPA stormwater team leader Jack Faulk.
