Better Implementation and Enforcement of 2002 Runoff Prevention Law Needed
Four
years after the passage of the nation’s strongest stormwater
regulations, runoff from construction sites in Wisconsin continues to
pose a serious threat to the health of Wisconsin’s waters, according to
a new report released today by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research
Group (WISPIRG) and American Rivers.
“We
have the tools to reduce runoff pollution from development,” said Bruce
Speight, WISPIRG Field Director. “But, we’re not really using them.”
The report, Protecting Wisconsin’s Waters: Better Oversight of Development is Necessary to Prevent Runoff Pollution,
finds that weak enforcement practices at the Department of Commerce
(which oversees commercial construction sites) allow developers to skip
required runoff prevention measures.
“Construction
sites can operate in ways that reduce stormwater runoff and protects
Wisconsin’s rivers,” said Gary Belan, Associate Director of American
Rivers’ Healthy Waters campaign. “Unfortunately, this isn’t happening
consistently in Wisconsin.”
These
weak enforcement practices will have serious consequences for water
quality in areas of the state that are expected to grow and develop
rapidly, such as Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay and central and western
communities like Plover, Onalaska and Eau Claire. If development
continues at even half the pace as in the past, the amount of built-up
land in Wisconsin could increase by about 12 percent by 2020, a
construction site one and a half times the size of Milwaukee county.
Commerce
has recently updated its rule to improve management of stormwater at
commercial construction sites. Nonetheless, the proposed rules do not
require sufficient information from developers for project review,
allow only 7 days to object to an application before permit coverage is
automatically granted, and propose an inadequate $25 fee to fund the
program.
"The
new rule underscores the disregard the Department of Commerce has for
their responsibility to protect waterways," says Lori Grant of the
River Alliance of Wisconsin. "The application process and ridiculously
short turn-around is tantamount to a rubber stamp for new development."
In
addition, Commerce has fewer enforcement tools than the Department of
Natural Resources to ensure compliance with the law, and it has failed
to refer a single violation to the Department of Justice since it began
monitoring commercial construction sites in 1994.
Wisconsin ’s 2002 runoff prevention law requires builders to reduce
sediment runoff both during and after construction by 80 percent at
sites of one acre or larger. Yet, a DNR official has estimated 100
percent non-compliance in at least one region of the state. According
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a construction site of one
acre can release between 20 and 150 tons of sediment per year.
To
prevent future growth from exacerbating runoff pollution, Wisconsin’s
government must improve oversight of development projects. With the
start of the 2007-2008 legislative session, WISPIRG urges state leaders
to consolidate stormwater regulation within the Department of Natural
Resources, require developers to supply comprehensive and detailed
information about their construction plans equivalent to DNR procedure,
and increase permit fees to ensure adequate funding and staff to review
applications, inspect sites and address violations.
“A
law is only as good as the funding and commitment behind it,” said
Brent Denzin, attorney at Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc. “We
need developers to provide the information and financing needed to keep
the pollution on their site and out of our waters. We need a funded and
active DNR assuring the public that we are not paying to clean of
someone else’s mess.”
“The
legislature can not let these standards slide away with the runoff that
is contaminating our waters,” continued Speight. “The legislature needs
to take action to make sure that the implementation of Wisconsin’s
landmark 2002 runoff rules remains true to the goal of protecting our
waterways from runoff.”
Runoff
is a dominant source of water pollution in over two-thirds of impaired
river sections in the state and over 50 percent of impaired lakes,
according to a 2006 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
assessment. Runoff increases the variability of stream flow, eroding
stream banks, impairing wildlife habitat, polluting drinking water, and
contributing to flooding and sewer overflows.
