Recent advocacy and opportunities for member feedback
Over the last month, AGC has responded to the proposed reissuance of the stormwater permit for industrial activities and continued to provide feedback on necessary changes to the definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS). AGC is also seeking real-life examples of compliance costs related to water permitting and mitigation on projects.
- As part of two separate coalitions, AGC submitted feedback (here and here) on the proposed reissuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities. The main concerns are with newly proposed requirements on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for most industries covered by the permit and criticism of the existing benchmark monitoring that was initiated in 1995 and has provided little useful or useable data over the last 30 years. Concerns specific to PFAS include: monitor requirements that continue after non-detection results are gotten; little useful guidance on what to do to address or remediate if PFAS is found; lab capacity; and sampling procedures that can be particularly infeasible for stormwater sampling at multiple locations in the field.
- In addition to written comments submitted in April on aligning the definition of WOTUS with recent Supreme Court decisions, AGC participated in two public listening sessions during May. In the first listening session, AGC provided a general overview of its comments. In the second, AGC provided examples of permitting and compliance issues that are particularly challenging for small businesses. The talking points for these listening sessions (here and here) serve as short summaries of AGC’s key concerns.
Member Feedback Needed
AGC’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the construction industry are bolstered by real-life experiences and examples provided by its members. Your examples will help in future opportunities to provide feedback on WOTUS, wetlands/stream mitigation, and a forthcoming reissuance to the Construction General Permit for stormwater discharges. We will maintain confidentiality. If you have feedback to share, please contact AGC at melinda.tomaino@agc.org.
Here’s an example that has been particularly helpful: “An AGC member shared that mitigation for an acreage with dry washes that had not seen water in decades cost about $400,000 on one project in the arid West.” For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at melinda.tomaino@agc.org.