Originally published in the April 2005 issue of the ONSite newsletter. Reprinted with permission of the Associated General Contractors of Colorado. The original article may be found here.
Colorado - a Beta Test Site
New State Stormwater Program Offers Alternatives
Stormwater Risk Management, Inc., a member firm of AGC/C, has been instrumental in keeping members informed on changes and issues pertaining to stormwater, as well as, oversight by the EPA. "Working with the state and the EPA to allow Colorado as a beta test site is a tremendous step forward," said Dick O'Brecht, President, AGC/C.
This month, an important program began in Colorado that could eventually have a significant impact on the construction and property development industries in our state and across the nation. After many months of planning and coordination with the Colorado WQCD, the program commenced on March 1, 2005 without much fanfare or publicity. The state sponsored program is called the Colorado Stormwater Excellence Program (CSEP) and it is the first of its kind in the nation. Why is another government program needed and how will it help contractors?
For years, contractors all across the country have struggled with the fact that many of the environmental laws they were legally bound to were not really written with builders in mind. Most regulators will acknowledge that when the Clean Water Act and its related NPDES offshoot were originally conceived, they were created to correct the environmental damages that fixed location facilities and large industrial polluters were causing. The laws were not designed for a contractor who, for example, temporarily occupies a portion of a site for eight months and may share control of the jobsite access with other builders. Who is responsible when mud is tracked onto the streets? Right now, the EPA uses a "blanket" enforcement approach and cites everyone on the project. It is then left up to expensive attorneys to sort out because no formal multi-pad site policy exists at the EPA. This is only one instance of many that exemplify the lack of consideration given to the construction industry when the environmental laws were drafted.
Another example of this incongruence is when environmentally proactive contractors try to use the Environmental Management System (EMS) program to their benefit and find that it doesn't really apply to them. The EMS program is recognized by much of the EPA as an alternative to the normal "command and control" method of regulatory oversight that has exemplified the EPA for the last 35 years. The concept behind the EMS is that ethical, environmentally conscious organizations can implement a program that allows them to internally ensure and document compliance with environmental regulations. The focus of the EMS is to build a track record of documented results that lead to actions that result in continuous environmental improvement. A variety of programs have been developed across the country in which members in good standing of a recognized EMS can qualify for reduced inspections, reduced enforcement liability, and positive recognition awards. Unfortunately for the building industry the EMS was created with fixed location facilities in mind. Until now, there didn't appear to be any EPA recognized program in the nation to address the "special" circumstances of the nomadic contracting industry. With CSEP, that could all change.
So what is the Colorado Stormwater Excellence Program? CSEP is a modified EMS that is focused specifically on compliance with stormwater quality regulations for the construction and property development industries. The program is the first of its kind that takes into consideration the unique characteristics of the ever changing building process on temporary sites. It is an EMS-based program whose success is judged on an entire company's environmental performance whether on one site or many. It is also a program that recognizes that even the most environmentally committed company may at times find themselves in violation of water quality regulations and therefore has a need for ongoing documentation of procedures and results.
The primary goal of CSEP is to provide a compliance assistance tool to the construction industry that addresses the web of stormwater quality requirements through an approach that has been formally recognized by the State and EPA. The CSEP is a completely voluntary program where contractors can finally get credit for their extra efforts toward excellent environmental performance. For example, a contractor performs monthly third party audits, which are not a permit requirement, and in exchange regulators may reduce the frequency of enforcement inspections at the participating sites and reprioritize their efforts towards those who consistently violate stormwater regulations.
Participants that demonstrate a commitment to continuous environmental improvement through the CSEP will be well on their way to participating in other programs, such as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environments Environmental Leadership Program that offers environmental performance recognition awards and increased access to the regulatory community. Since compliance with regulations is mandatory, most CSEP program expenses are easily justified as a cost of the work. Proactively coordinating environmental management measures should also yield lower project costs.
Right now, the CSEP is a pilot program that is being implemented in a beta format by a small number of companies at select sites to allow the initial bugs to be worked out. The current pilot program will run from March 1st to June 30th of this year in a much accelerated schedule commensurate with the nature of the building industry. During the pilot, a variety of stakeholders from the State, EPA, local government, and construction industry will be drawn on for their specific expertise to draft guidance for the industry to be used in implementing the CSEP model. If the pilot program yields the promising initial results we expect, the program will be made available to the industry and the program opened up for full participation by everyone in the construction industry.
This is an exciting opportunity for environmentally responsible contractors and developers in Colorado and is being watched by many other states and the EPA to see if this approach can provide a much needed solution to a problem that exists all across the nation. We are fortunate in Colorado to have innovative thinkers at the CDPHE Water Quality Control Division that are willing to try a partnership approach with the regulated community to create a better environment in all respects. This program will be a win-win for everyone.
Stormwater Risk Management, Inc., with thirty-two years of general contracting experience, helps general contractors of all size create and implement highly effective stormwater compliance programs. For further information, contact Bill Robinson at (303) 627-7867.