Regulatory Issues in Soil Erosion and Sediment Control: ASCE EWRI MPCES Subcommittee on Regulatory Tools

The promulgation of the NPDES Phase II regulations since March 2003 has lead to an increase in the national awareness of construction site soil erosion and sediment control (SESC). In response to Phase II, many municipalities with small MS4s are entering the arena of regulating construction sites for SESC. Additionally, state environmental departments are increasing their presence, and authority, on more sites. However, as with many growing regulatory frameworks several issues have emerged. NPDES Phase I and II regulations have established a relatively well-defined baseline for SESC regulations. Many states and local governments have taken the opportunity to set more stringent regulations. As a result, owners, developers, and contractors across the nation are now required to be adequately prepared to face regulation from the local, state, and federal levels. However, inconsistencies exist in the level of implementation of the regulations between municipalities and at the federal, state, and local levels. The variability exists in the plan review stage and with the frequency and level of inspections during construction. Effluent limitation standards for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) for construction site discharges should be considered at the regional and/or local levels. The "visual inspections" that are currently being performed in many areas present a large amount of subjectivity from one inspector to the next. The development of effluent limitation standards should be based on the original goal of the Clean Water Act to create "fishable" and "swimmable" waters. Additionally, the development of numerical standards should be focused on restoring water quality rather than simply preserving the current state of water quality.