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New Rules for Construction Site Erosion Control Expected to Take Effect April 1, 2007
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Published: January 1, 2007
Authors:
Carl Sinderbrand and
Charles (Buck) Sweeney
On October 23, 2006 the Wisconsin Department of Commerce adopted new rules for construction site erosion and storm water management that are expected to take effect on April 1, 2007. The new rules update the Uniform Dwelling Code and the Commercial Building Code to reflect standards under NR 151 and NR 216. There are seven significant changes.
Once the new rules take effect there will be a $25 fee for processing notices of intent related to land disturbing construction activities involving one acre or more for commercial building sites.
The new rules clarify that provisions in the Wisconsin Department of Commerce rules regulating post construction storm water management only establish minimum requirements. Thus municipalities are free to enact more stringent ordinances.
These rules also acknowledge the federal government's role in regulating sediment and erosion control. The new rules provide that municipalities may enforce more stringent sediment and erosion control provisions in order to comply with obligations under the Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The rules further provide that municipalities may enforce targeted standards set forth by the Wisconsin DNR. Furthermore, the new rules establish a directive for the use of erosion and sediment control practices targeted to address specific potential sources of soil or sediment deposition. Potential sources include, for example, soil tracked onto streets by vehicles and sediment eroding from soil stockpiles in existence for more than 7 days.
The new rules also establish standards of performance for practices that address erosion and sediment control both on sites where less than one acre of land disturbing construction activity is to occur and sites where one or more acres of land disturbing construction activity is to occur. These standards of performance are measured in potential annual cumulative soil loss rates by weight and percentage reductions of the potential sediment load in storm water runoff on an average annual basis as compared with no controls for the site.
Moreover, the adopted rules prescribe monitoring and maintenance provisions for erosion and sediment control. These provisions require weekly monitoring generally and monitoring within 24 hours of a rainfall of 0.5 inches or greater. They also require the maintenance of records indicating the condition of the erosion and sediment control practices at various monitoring intervals and a description of maintenance conducted to repair or replace the control practices. Additionally the rules require that any sediment deposition resulting from the failure of a control practice must be cleaned up by the end of the next day and any off site deposition resulting from construction activity must be cleaned up by the end of the work day.
Finally, the new rules require that storm water management practices be employed in accordance with NR 151.12 and maintained when the land disturbing construction activity involves one or more acres. NR 151.12 regulates the erosion and sediment control practices for the post-construction phase of some sites. In a nutshell, municipalities can and likely will establish more stringent regulations. Builders must be attentive to erosion control issues and work with their engineer to monitor and maintain building sites.
For more information, please call Buck Sweeney at 608.283.6743, or csweeney@axley.com or Carl Sinderbrand at 608.260.2472, or csinderbrand@axley.com
. The authors thank Ed Lawton, a law clerk at Axley Brynelson, LLP, for his assistance.
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