Compliance and Enforcement Annual Results FY2008:
Important Environmental Problems/National Priorities:
Stormwater

FY2008 Annual Results Topics

Annual Results for
National Enforcement Priorities

Problem
Key Results
Highlights

Problem:

Poor Stormwater Flow

Good Stormwater Flow

Stormwater runoff from construction activities and sewers in large urban areas significantly impairs water quality in rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, estuaries, nearshore ocean and wetlands nation-wide. Soil disturbance and vegetation removal that occurs during construction increases erosion that transports sediment into waterways. As stormwater flows over a construction site, it carries other pollutants including pesticides, petroleum, chemicals, solvents, asphalts, acids, and debris from the land into water sources that serve as drinking water, aquatic habitat, and public swimming areas. Urban stormwater discharged from storm sewers, called municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), is a major source of water quality impairment. Addressing urban stormwater is a national priority to improve water quality.

Key Results:

FY 2007 - 2008 Annual Results
Fiscal Year	Estimated Pollutants to be Reduced or Treated (lbs)*	Estimated Investments in Pollution Control ($)**	Civil Penalties ($) ***
FY 2007	118 million	$9 million	$4.3 million
FY 2008	1,329 million	$68 million	$7.6 million

*Estimated Pollutants Reduced or Treated is an estimate of the pounds of pollutants reduced, treated, or eliminated during the first year after a facility returns to compliance.
** Estimated Investments in Pollution Control is an estimate of the defendant’s cost to comply with consent decrees through the installation of appropriate pollutant controls. The value for FY 2007 is adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator.
*** Civil Penalties are penalties assessed, not collected. The value for FY 2007 is also adjusted for inflation.

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Highlights:

EPA targeted enforcement actions against large construction sites and MS4s in FY 2008, gaining commitments to reduce an estimated 1,329 million pounds of pollutants.
The primary pollutant reduced by these enforcement actions is particulate solids. Other pollutants reduced include oil, nutrients, oxygen demanding pollutants, and metals.
In 2008, EPA settled with four of the nation’s largest home builders to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act storm water requirements. The builders, Centex, Pulte, Richmond American Homes, and KB Homes agreed to implement company-wide compliance programs across the country that will prevent over 1 billion pounds of sediment from polluting our nation’s waterways each year. The companies also paid civil penalties totaling $4.3 million.
In 2008, EPA with the State of Colorado, settled with Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, for violations of the Clean Water Act at 42 of its construction sites across the country. The settlement requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $1.3 million and establish a comprehensive storm water compliance program to prevent future violations and related pollution. As a result of the actions required by this settlement, over 9 million pounds of sediment from polluted storm water run-off will be prevented from entering our nation’s waterways annually.