[StBernard] Four of nation's largest home builders settle storm water violations

[Westley Annis]

Four of nation's largest home builders settle storm water violations 

(Dallas, Texas - June 11, 2008)  Four of the nation's largest home builders
have agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $4.3 million to resolve alleged
violations of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The companies also
have agreed to implement company-wide compliance programs that go beyond
current regulatory requirements and put controls in place that will keep 1.2
billion pounds of sediment from polluting our nation's waterways each year.


"EPA requires that construction sites obtain permits and take simple, basic
steps to prevent pollutants from contaminating storm water and harming our
nation's waterways," said Granta Y. Nakayama, assistant administrator for
EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Today's settlements
set a new bar for the home building industry."   

"Today's settlements mark an important step forward in protecting our waters
from harmful storm water runoff from construction activities," said
Assistant Attorney General Ronald J. Tenpas.  "In the future, these
homebuilders will implement company-wide compliance programs that will
provide better and more consistent protections at their construction sites
across the country."   

The home builders are Centex Homes, based in Dallas; KB Home, based in Los
Angeles; Pulte Homes, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; and Richmond
American Homes, based in Denver. The four separate settlements resolve
alleged violations of storm water run-off regulations at construction sites
in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Each company will pay the
following penalties: 
      Centex:   $1,485,000 
      KB Home: $1,185,000 
      Pulte:  $877,000 
      Richmond: $795,000 

Pulte Homes has also agreed to complete a supplemental environmental project
at a minimum cost of $608,000.  The project will reduce the amount of
sediment going into a northern California watershed and improve the habitat
for aquatic life.  

Along with the federal government, seven state co-plaintiffs have joined the
settlements.  Those states are Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri,
Nevada, Tennessee, and Utah.   Each of the seven states will receive a
portion of the penalties based on the number of sites located within that
state.  

Combined, the four builders accounted for more than 124,000 home closings in
2006, and are ranked nationally among the top ten home builders in terms of
home closings and revenues.   

The government complaints allege a common pattern of violations that was
discovered by reviewing documentation submitted by the companies and through
federal and state site inspections. The alleged violations include not
obtaining permits until after construction had begun or failing to obtain
the required permits at all. At the sites that did have permits, violations
included failure to prevent or minimize the discharge of pollutants, such as
silt and debris, in storm water runoff.  

The settlements require the companies to develop improved pollution
prevention plans for each site, increase site inspections and promptly
correct any problems that are detected. The companies must properly train
construction managers and contractors, and are required to have trained
staff at each construction site. They also must implement a management and
internal reporting system to improve oversight of on-the-ground operations
and submit annual reports to EPA. 

Improving compliance at construction sites is one of EPA's national
enforcement priorities. Construction projects have a high potential for
environmental harm because they disturb large areas of land and
significantly increase the potential for erosion.  Without onsite pollution
controls, sediment-laden runoff from construction sites can flow directly to
the nearest waterway and degrade water quality. In addition, storm water can
pick up other pollutants, including concrete washout, paint, used oil,
pesticides, solvents and other debris. Polluted runoff can harm or kill fish
and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality. 

The settlements are the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address
storm water violations from construction sites around the country. A similar
consent decree, reached in February with Home Depot, required the company to
pay a fine of $1.3 million and establish a comprehensive storm water
compliance plan to prevent future violations.     

The Clean Water Act requires that construction sites have controls in place
to prevent pollution from being discharged with storm water into nearby
waterways. These controls include simple pollution prevention techniques
such as silt fences, phased site grading, and sediment basins to prevent
common construction contaminants from entering the nation's waterways.     

The consent decrees, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, are subject to a 30-day public comment period and
approval by the federal court. The companies are required to pay the penalty
within 30 days of the court's approval of the settlement.  Copies of the
consent decrees are available on the Justice Department Web site at
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
<http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html> .     

To learn more about enforcement activities in EPA Region 6, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/region6 <http://www.epa.gov/region6> .