United
States
Office
of
Water
EPA
821­
F­
02­
009
Environmental
Protection
4303T
May
2002
Agency
Fact
Sheet
Construction
and
Development
Effluent
Guideline
Proposed
Rule
Summary
EPA
is
proposing
three
options
that
relate
to
the
discharge
of
pollutants
from
construction
sites.
The
proposal
includes
options
that
work
in
conjunction
with
existing
storm
water
regulations
to
continue
support
for
state
and
local
flexibility
and
land
use
decision­
making.
One
option
is
an
effluent
guideline;
another
option
specifies
site
inspections
and
certifications
that
controls
have
been
properly
installed;
and
the
third
option
relies
on
the
existing
regulations.

Background
Effluent
guidelines
are
national
standards
for
wastewater
discharges
to
surface
waters
and
publicly
owned
treatment
works
(municipal
sewage
treatment
plants).
EPA
issues
effluent
guidelines
for
categories
of
existing
sources
and
new
sources
under
Title
III
of
the
Clean
Water
Act.
The
standards
are
technology­
based
(i.
e.,
they
are
based
on
the
performance
of
treatment
and
control
technologies);
they
are
not
based
on
risk
or
impacts
upon
receiving
waters.

Construction
activities
like
clearing,
excavating,
and
grading
significantly
disturb
the
land.
The
disturbed
soil,
if
not
managed
properly,
can
be
washed
off­
site
during
storms.
With
the
runoff
comes
an
increase
in
sedimentation.
Sedimentation
problems
range
from
reduced
passage
in
rivers
and
streams
to
higher
drinking
water
treatment
costs
for
removing
the
sediment.

Proposed
Requirements
EPA
is
proposing
three
different
approaches
to
reduce
the
sediment
discharges
from
construction
sites.

One
approach
is
an
effluent
guideline
for
construction
sites
that
are
covered
by
Phase
1
Storm
Water
regulations
(5
acres
and
greater
disturbed)
and
have
to
apply
for
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System
(NPDES)
permits.
The
effluent
guideline
approach
specifies
the
design
criteria
for
the
runoff
controls
and
includes
site
certification
and
inspection
requirements.
The
second
approach
applies
to
all
construction
sites
that
have
to
receive
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System
(NPDES)
permits,
and
relies
on
the
inspections
and
certifications
that
the
construction
companies
would
need
to
perform.
The
third
option
does
not
add
new
requirements
and
instead
relies
on
effective
implementation
of
the
existing
regulations.

Costs
and
Benefits
of
the
Proposed
Rule
This
proposal
could
reduce
the
amount
of
sediment
discharged
from
construction
sites.

For
the
effluent
guideline
approach,
EPA
estimates
annual
compliance
costs
of
$505
million
and
a
reduction
in
the
discharge
of
pollutants
by
11
million
tons
a
year.
For
the
option
that
requires
on­
site
inspections
and
certifications,
EPA
estimates
annual
compliance
costs
of
$130
million
and
a
reduction
in
the
discharge
of
pollutants
of
5
million
tons
a
year.
For
the
option
that
relies
on
full
implementation
of
existing
construction
regulations
requirements,
EPA
estimates
no
additional
compliance
costs.
Additional
Information
and
Copies
For
further
information,
please
contact:

Eric
Strassler
U.
S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
Office
of
Water
(4303T)
Engineering
and
Analysis
Division
1200
Pennsylvania
Ave.
N.
W.
Washington,
D.
C.
20460
or
send
an
e­
mail
to
Strassler.
Eric@
epa.
gov.
You
can
view
or
download
the
complete
text
of
the
Federal
Register
notice
on
the
Internet
at
http://
www.
epa.
gov/
waterscience/
guide/
constr
uction.
