Constructing clean water
We’ve all seen it: the brown, muddy water flowing off of bare ground at construction sites, where protective vegetation has been stripped away. That sediment is itself harmful to lakes, but the sediment can also carry other pollutants like phosphorus, oil and grease, or heavy metals.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “the sediment, turbidity, and other pollutants [contained] in stormwater discharges associated with construction activity contribute to aquatic ecosystem degradation, increased drinking water treatment costs, and impairment of the recreational use and aesthetic value of impacted waters. Sediment can also accumulate in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, leading to the need for dredging or other mitigation in order to prevent reduced water storage or navigation capacity.”[1]
Like other “point sources” of water pollution, most construction sites are required to obtain wastewater discharge permits from either EPA or the Wisconsin DNR. These permits include requirements to keep lakes and rivers as clean as possible, including the requirement to install and correctly maintain best management practices (BMPs) for erosion prevention and pollution control. These BMPs are physical devices – such as storm drain inlet filters, washed stone berms, or silt fences – that prevent unnecessary pollution from reaching the water.
Enforcing the permits
Whenever a permit-holder violates the requirements of its discharge permit (for example, when BMPs are incorrectly installed or not maintained), the EPA, DNR, or citizens may enforce the terms of the permit through a variety of legal mechanisms. Citizens are authorized by the Clean Water Act to file a “citizen suit” in federal court, directly against the polluter, in order to abate the violations and protect local water quality.
As part of the suit, the citizens may also seek civil penalties for past and present violations. Similar citizen suit provisions are included in all major federal environmental statutes, and for 40 years they have proved to be a powerful tool for environmental protection, allowing citizens and conservation organizations to fill the enforcement void left by under-funded or politically unmotivated state and federal agencies.
On June 23, 2010, a small group of citizens residing in the Lake Wingra watershed sent to the City of Madison and Speedway Sand & Gravel, Inc. a “60-Day Notice” of their intent to sue for stormwater permit violations committed at the Edgewood Av Reconstruction project in west Madison. Even after multiple citizen complaints, sediment-laden stormwater continues to stream down the very steep Edgewood Avenue and into Lake Wingra, and various BMPs installed by the contractors have not maintained or repaired after several rainstorms.
The citizens, represented by James N. Saul, Attorney at Law LLC, hope that the City will respond proactively to the Notice letter so that Lake Wingra can be protected without resort to litigation.
For more information, contact Jamie Saul at jamie@jsaulattorney.com or www.jsaulattorney.com.
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