8
Quad Cities Builders & Remodelers Association — Spring 2014
NATIONAL NEWS & VIEWS
I
n a major win for the home building in-
dustry – and common sense – the Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) will jetti-
son plans for a National Post Construction
Stormwater Rulemaking, plans that NAHB
repeatedly told the agency would have added
onerous, costly and in many cases impracti-
cal steps to the residential development pro-
cess. “It’s been a five-year bureaucratic battle,
but we won. That’s a victory for our buyers as
well,” said Kevin Kelly, NAHB chairman and
a home builder and developer from Wilm-
ington, Del.
Since EPA first announced its plans in
December 2009, NAHB staff and members
have submitted comments and letters,
testified at hearings, served on small-
business panels and met with appointed and
elected officials to explain why EPA’s proposal
was an incursion into land-use regulations
and plain wouldn’t work. In essence, a rule
would have required all builders to retain a
certain volume of stormwater onsite by using
low-impact development techniques such as
rain gardens, pervious pavements and other
methods that often add money especially on
sites with soil types that don’t easily infiltrate.
Some of the technologies EPA was
considering would be almost impossible
in many urban areas, making smart-
growth and redevelopment projects less
likely to succeed. They are also expensive:
Builders who employ these practices have
estimated they add at least 10-15% to
the cost of a developed lot, depending on
location and soil type.
EPA was also considering expensive
retrofit requirements that would saddle
municipalities and taxpayers with huge
additional bills during a time when many
cannot keep up with current infrastructure
demands. “Green infrastructure systems are
still a work in progress, and as technology
progresses, we’ll discover solutions that
work better and are less expensive,” Kelly
said. “I’m glad that EPA has decided to
concentrate on education programs rather
than proposing this rule, and I am proud of
the role we played to make that happen.”
NAHB is talking to EPA about assisting
with its low-impact development education
efforts, and such practices already are part
of the voluntary ICC 700 National Green
Building Standard.
+
EPA Drops Plans
for New
Post-Construction Stormwater Rule
