ARTBA hails victory in storm-water issue

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has been heard loud and clear by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when it comes to the issue of storm-water permitting.

The federal agency last week issued new general permits for storm-water runoff from construction sites which did not include controversial "one size fits all" requirements long opposed by ARTBA. It is a long-sought result for the transportation construction industry.

Originally, EPA had wanted to include a single, uniform standard for runoff in all of its permits for all construction sites, meaning that a project in an extremely wet area would be treated the same as one in an extremely dry area.

For the past five years, ARTBA has repeatedly submitted comments and testimony to EPA saying that builders and planners needed flexibility for storm-water permits to account for different weather conditions across the country under which projects are built. Transportation projects are initiated in every part of the country, and those in areas with heavy rainfall should not be held to the same standards as those in arid regions, the association said.

The full text of the association's many comments can be found in the "regulatory affairs" section of www.artba.org.