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New Hampshire Real Estate Developer and Contractor Charged With Clean Water Act Violations

Release Date: 05/27/04
Contact Information: Contact Information: David Deegan, 617-918-1017

For Immediate Release: May 27, 2004; Release # 04-05-24

(Boston, MA) An enforcement action has been filed against K&B Development, LLC, and American Excavating Corp. for violations of the Clean Water Act at the Collins Way construction site in Pelham, N.H. The New Hampshire-based firms operated for over a year without federal permits for the discharge of storm water associated with construction activities and had failed to implement storm water controls adequate to protect nearby water bodies. The firms face a maximum civil penalty of $137,500.

The 43-acre construction site is located on the northern face of Jeremy Hill in Pelham, N.H. Construction, begun in Sept. 2002, will ultimately cause the disturbance of approximately 30 acres of land through clearing, grading and excavation activities. Once completed, the site wiIl be a residential subdivision of 24 single-family homes along two roads: Longview Circle and Collins Way. K&B Development, LLC, is the developer of and contractor for the Collins Way subdivision, while American Excavating Corp. was contracted to build the two roads and an on-site storm water detention basin.

During inspections of the site in May and June 2003, EPA observed turbidity in nearby streams and a pond, caused by storm water runoff from the site. K&B Development has since removed some of the accumulated silt from the stream and associated wetlands.

According to a recent National Water Quality Report to Congress, polluted storm water runoff, including runoff from construction sites, is the leading cause of impairment for nearly 40 percent of surveyed U.S. water bodies failing to meet water quality standards. Storm water runoff from construction sites can carry solvents, paints, oil, nutrients, sediment and other pollutants into nearby streams, ponds and rivers. Runoff from a one-acre construction site can result in the erosion of as much as 20 to 150 tons of sediment in one year if not properly managed. These pollutants, including sediment, reduce the storage capacity of drains and waterways, causing flooding and adversely affecting water quality and fish habitat. In 1998, more than 1,500 beach closings and advisories in U.S. coastal and Great Lakes communities were attributed to storm water runoff from construction sites, streets, parking lots, and agricultural lands.

The federal construction storm water permitting program was created to prevent and reduce degradation of water quality from construction activities. The program requires all construction site operators disturbing one or more acres of land to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and install pollutant control and stabilization measures.

More information on the federal construction storm water permitting program is available at: https://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/const.cfm.

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