Cutting Off Sediment at the Source

This article explains some of the requirements outlined in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) new effluent limitation guidelines for construction sites, covering both permitting authorities and as site owners. The authors outline the most preferred methodology for keeping jobsites clean. The new EPA regulation took effect in February 2010, but it is being phased in over 4 years. The regulation focuses on reducing or eliminating the generation of sediment, which eliminates the need to control the sediment. Larger sites will be required to limit sediment in stormwater discharges and to implement control technologies. In order to meet the discharge limits of the new EPA guidelines, construction sites may have to add more expensive end-of-pipe pollutant-control technologies such as flocculation, coagulation, and filtration. The authors outline a variety of source reduction strategies, including grading the jobsite over a period of time, reducing the amount of impervious surface, stabilizing the site as soon as possible, taking seasonal weather fluctuations into account, and controlling run-on to the site. The author concludes by encouraging departments who are responsible for enforcing stormwater permit compliance to support source reduction by offering comments during the planning phases of construction projects.