Homebuilder to Pay Civic Penalty of $741,000

   WASHINGTON –  6/20/2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Toll Brothers Inc., one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, will pay a civil penalty of $741,000 to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites, including sites located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Toll Brothers will also invest in a company-wide stormwater compliance program to improve employee training and increase management oversight at all current and future residential construction sites across the nation. The company is required to inspect its current and future construction sites routinely to minimize stormwater runoff from sites. Polluted stormwater runoff and sediment from construction sites can flow directly into the nearest waterway, affecting drinking water quality and damaging valuable aquatic habitats.
   “Keeping contaminated stormwater runoff out of the nation’s waterways, like the Chesapeake Bay, is one of EPA’s top priorities,” Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance and Assurance Cynthia Giles said. “Today’s settlement will improve oversight of stormwater runoff at construction sites across the country and protect America’s waters.”
   “This settlement will help protect the nation’s waters from the harmful pollutants contained in stormwater runoff from construction sites,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The settlement requires Toll Brothers to implement system-wide management controls and training that will help prevent polluted stormwater runoff from contaminating rivers, lakes and sources of drinking water.”
   EPA estimates the settlement will prevent millions of pounds of sediment from entering U.S. waterways every year, including sediment that would otherwise enter the Chesapeake Bay, North America’s largest and most biologically diverse estuary. The bay and its tidal tributaries are threatened by pollution from a variety of sources and are overburdened with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that can be carried by stormwater.
   The complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement agreement, alleges over 600 stormwater violations that were discovered through site inspections and by reviewing documentation submitted by Toll Brothers. The majority of the alleged violations involve Toll Brothers’ repeated failures to comply with permit requirements at its construction sites, including requirements to install and maintain adequate stormwater pollution controls.
   The Clean Water Act requires permits for the discharge of stormwater runoff. In general, Toll Brothers’ permits require that construction sites have controls in place to prevent pollution from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. These controls include common-sense safeguards such as silt fences, phased site grading and sediment basins to prevent construction contaminants from entering the nation’s waterways.
   The settlement requires Toll Brothers to obtain all required permits, develop site-specific pollution prevention plans for each construction site, conduct additional site inspections beyond those required by stormwater regulations, and document and promptly correct any problems. The company must properly train construction managers and contractors on stormwater requirements and designate trained staff for each site. Toll Brothers must also submit national compliance summary reports to EPA based on management oversight inspections and reviews.
   This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address stormwater violations from residential construction sites around the country. Construction projects have a high potential for environmental harm because they disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion, and stormwater runoff from sites can pick up other pollutants, including concrete washout, paint, used oil, solvents and trash.
   The state of Maryland and the commonwealth of Virginia have joined the settlement and will receive a portion of the $741,000 penalty. The settlement includes Toll Brothers sites in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
   The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
   More information about this settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/tollbrothers.html
   More information about EPA’s stormwater enforcement:http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/data/planning/priorities/cwastorm.html

Lafarge North America Inc. to Pay $740,000 Penalty

   WASHINGTON - 12/4/2011 - Lafarge North America Inc., one of the largest suppliers of construction materials in the United States and Canada, and four of its U.S. subsidiaries have agreed to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations. The violations include unpermitted discharges of stormwater at 21 stone, gravel, sand, asphalt and ready-mix concrete facilities in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and New York. Stormwater flowing over concrete manufacturing facilities can carry debris, sediment and pollutants, including pesticides, petroleum products, chemicals and solvents, which can have a significant impact on water quality.
   “The EPA is committed to protecting America’s waters from polluted stormwater runoff,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s (Nov. 29) settlement will improve stormwater management at facilities across the nation, preventing harmful pollutants from being swept into local waterways.”
   “Owners and operators of industrial facilities must take the necessary measures to comply with stormwater regulations under the Clean Water Act, which protects America’s rivers, lakes, and sources of drinking water from harmful contamination,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The system-wide management controls and training that this settlement requires from Lafarge and its subsidiaries will result in better management practices and a robust compliance program at hundreds of facilities throughout the nation that will prevent harmful stormwater runoff.”
   Lafarge will implement a nationwide evaluation and compliance program at 189 of its similar facilities in the United States to ensure they meet Clean Water Act requirements. Lafarge will also pay a penalty of $740,000 and implement two supplemental environmental projects, in which the company will complete conservation easements to protect approximately 166 acres in Maryland and Colorado. The value of the land has been appraised at approximately $2,95 million. Lafarge will also implement one state environmentally beneficial project valued at $10,000 to support environmental training for state inspectors.
   The comprehensive evaluation will include a compliance review of each facility’s permit, an inventory of all discharges to U.S. waters, and identification of all best management practices in place. In addition, Lafarge must identify an environmental vice president, responsible for coordinating oversight of compliance with stormwater requirements, at least two environmental directors, to oversee stormwater compliance at each operation, and an onsite operations manager at each facility. The U.S. estimates that Lafarge will spend approximately $8 million over five years to develop and maintain this compliance program.
   The company will also develop and implement an extensive management, training, inspections, and reporting system to increase oversight of its operations and compliance with stormwater requirements at all facilities that it owns or operates.
   The complaint, filed in federal court with the settlement, alleges a pattern of violations since 2006 that were discovered after several federal inspections at the company’s facilities. The alleged violations included unpermitted discharges, violations of effluent limitations, inadequate management practices, inadequate or missing records and practices regarding stormwater compliance and monitoring, inadequate discharge monitoring and reporting, inadequate stormwater pollution prevention plans, and inadequate stormwater training.
   The Clean Water Act requires that industrial facilities, such as ready-mix concrete plants, sand and gravel facilities and asphalt batching plants, have controls in place to prevent pollution from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that sets guidelines and best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants.
   Since being notified of the violations by EPA, the company has made significant improvements to its stormwater management systems.
   The settlement is the latest in a series of federal enforcement actions to address stormwater violations from industrial facilities and construction sites around the country. The states of Maryland and Colorado are co-plaintiffs and have joined the proposed settlement.
   Lafarge is required to pay the penalty within 30 days of the court’s approval of the settlement.
   Source: U.S. EPA release. For additional information about this case, see Settlement.

Fitch: U.S. Residential Construction Still Distressed

   CHICAGO - (BUSINESS WIRE) - 10/20/2011 - Despite recent signs of stabilization in housing starts and new home sales data, Fitch Ratings expects U.S. residential construction activity to remain at distressed levels moving into 2012.
  The September housing starts release by the Commerce Department on October 19 pointed to a modest increase in single-family home starts, but applications for building permits were down slightly versus August, suggesting near-term weakness in new construction activity. The rise in the annualized level of total housing starts to 658,000 in September, up 15 percent from August, reflects some strengthening from this summer's trough, but the biggest driver of monthly gains was a pick-up in multi-family starts, which grew by 51 percent on an annualized basis from August to September.
   Separately, applications for new mortgages declined last week, and the National Association of Homebuilders' confidence index rose but remained at a distressed level. Taken together, recent data provide little support for the view that lower long-term interest rates are driving a material pick-up in the housing market.
   New home demand remains weak in the face of high existing home inventory levels, continuing foreclosure pressure and a persistently weak employment picture. In light of the continuing imbalance in supply and demand, Fitch forecasts very modest growth of approximately 1 percent in U.S. home prices for 2012.
   Although average 30-year mortgage rates have fallen to about 4 percent, near a 40-year low, new home buyer demand is still being depressed by poor jobs growth, tough credit standards applied by lenders and ample availability of competing home inventory.
   Fitch expects new home sales to grow at a rate of 7 percent in 2012, off of a still-depressed 2011 base. Somewhat less competition from distressed home sales, fewer low-cost rental alternatives and historically low interest rates should contribute to the modest rise in single-family home sales next year.

Repeal of Construction Plan Worries Lawmakers

   By Diane S.W. Lee and Melissa Leu - (Illinois Statehouse News) - 1/30/2011 - Illinois state construction and building projects may be in for a long haul.

   An Illinois Appellate Court on Jan. 26 threw out the state’s multi-year, $31 billion capital program, leaving local lawmakers concerned.
   In addition to funding construction projects, Public Act 96-34 legalized video gaming in certain establishments, allowed for privatization of the state’s lottery, hiked taxes on such items as beverages and candy and increased liquor taxes. The court ruled that it was “void in its entirety.”

   W. Rockwell Wirtz, president of the Chicago-based alcohol wholesaler Wirtz Beverage Illinois, brought the case to the appeals court, alleging it violated the Illinois Constitution’s single subject rule.

   The single subject rule, also called the “uniformity clause,” requires that legislation dealing with appropriations be limited to one subject.

    One Illinois lawmaker flat out disagreed with the ruling.

   “I think the courts have this wrong. It’s clearly a single subject,” Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-Moline, said. “The single subject is raising capital for the state, so the state can move forward on economic development projects.”

   Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said “Nothing is going to change in the end. I think the court is just saying their interpretation is that we need to follow a stricter single-subject rule.”

   The capital program was a major initiative of Gov. Pat Quinn’s first year in office, aimed at creating jobs and investing in the state’s infrastructure.

   State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he was disappointed with the court’s ruling on a measure he called a “jobs bill.”

   “When you now say that the funding in the legislation itself is unconstitutional, you put a choke hold on those jobs and the state and the economy,” Brady said. “This whole jobs bill … was directed to stimulate the economic engine of the state of Illinois and put people back to work in this high unemployment time.”

   The Illinois Attorney General’s office plans on filing an appeal and a motion for an immediate stay on Thursday, spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said. A stay will allow the program to continue as usual.

   Quinn appeared to be hoping for the best.

   “We would expect the Supreme Court to rule on the request for a stay in the very near future,” Quinn said in a written statement released Wednesday.

   The Legislature now faces two options — wait for the Supreme Court’s decision or break down the measure into smaller components and pass the plan separately when both chambers reconvene on Feb. 2.

   If that doesn’t work, lawmakers will need to look for a different funding source for capital projects, Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Mt. Sterling, said.
   “There [are] challenges — because there are different players of this General Assembly — but I’ve got to believe that across party lines, and across geographic lines, and everything else, we recognize that Illinois has got a crumbling infrastructure that so desperately needs attention,” Tracy said.

   But the clock is ticking.

   “We’re anticipating a spring construction season with projects that are being funded by this capital bill,” Brady said. “And that is of great concern to me, that there is now a roadblock that has been thrown up to move forward with this very needed jobs bill in the state.”

   Capital projects already in progress are expected to continue as scheduled, which is a relief to one southern Illinois lawmaker.

   “You got a real asset,” Sen. John Jones, R-Mount Vernon, said. “The governor has some discretionary movement around here, so he can use money out of his own revenue fund to keep the capital bill moving forward.”

   Jacobs echoed that concern.
   “Clearly raising revenue is never easy,” Jacobs said.

   Note: originally published Jan. 26, 2011. Story courtesy of Illinois Statehouse News.