Beazer Homes USA Inc. has agreed to pay a $925,000
civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction
sites in 21 states, according to the Justice Department (DOJ) and Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
As part of the settlement, the nationwide builder of
residential homes will also implement a company-wide storm water program to
improve compliance with storm water runoff requirements at current and future
construction sites around the country.
"This settlement will help many communities across the
nation by protecting their waterways from harmful pollutants in stormwater
runoff," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the
Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.
"Contaminated stormwater puts children and families at
risk as it may carry pollutants, including sediment, debris, and pesticides
that contribute to water quality problems. These pollutants affect our nation's
rivers, lakes and sources of drinking water," said Cynthia Giles,
Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance and
Assurance. She says the settlement "will help protect public health and the
environment by requiring Beazer to meet the requirements of our nation's
environmental laws and improve its oversight of its construction facilities."
Pattern of violations
The government complaint, filed simultaneously with the
settlement agreement in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., claims there was a
pattern of violations that was discovered through site inspections and by
reviewing documentation submitted by the company.
The alleged violations include failure to obtain permits
until after construction began, or failing to obtain them at all. At sites with
permits, violations included failure to prevent or minimize the discharge of
pollutants such as silt and debris in storm water runoff.
The settlement requires Beazer to develop improved pollution
prevention plans for each construction site, conduct additional site
inspections, and promptly correct any problems detected.
In addition, the company must properly train construction
managers and contractors and designate trained staff for each site. And it must
implement a management and internal reporting system to improve oversight of
on-the-ground operations and submit annual reports to EPA.
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 pollution prevention techniques
such as silt fences, phased site grading, and sediment basins to prevent common
construction contaminants from entering the nation's waterways.
Potential for harm
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, degrade aquatic
habitat, and affect drinking water quality.
A portion of the settlement helps EPA efforts to protect the
Chesapeake Bay, North America's largest and most biologically diverse estuary.
The bay and its tidal tributaries are threatened by pollution from a variety of
sources, and overburdened with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that can be
carried by storm water. The settlement will result in a reduction of
approximately 10.4 million pounds of pollutants to the bay watershed.
Seven states that joined the settlement -- Colorado,
Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Tennessee and Virginia -- will receive a
portion of the $925,000 penalty.
The settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement
actions to address storm water violations from construction sites around the
country. In the last several years, EPA and DOJ have reached consent decrees
with nine residential construction companies for stormwater violations
resulting in approximately $6.3 million in penalties. In 2009, Beazer ranked as
the nation's 10th-largest home building company.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
