Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Environmental Quality
 
Board
State Water Control Board
 
chapter
General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities (formerly Part XIV, 4VAC50-60) [9 VAC 25 ‑ 880]
Action Amend and Reissue the General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Construction Activities
Stage Proposed
Comment Period Ended on 6/7/2013
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5/28/13  11:18 am
Commenter: Ken Goldsmith

Do not allow secret runoff pollution plans
 

Dear Sirs,

I support most of the proposed changes to the construction general permit. In particular, I support stronger conditions that require contractors to develop and follow a runoff prevention plan with tough pollution reduction controls, including prompt stabilization of denuded areas and more frequent site inspections to identify and fix runoff problems.

However, as a citizen of Virginia I strongly oppose provisions in the proposed new permit that would allow contractors to keep their pollution prevention plans out of public view and secret. This lack of transparency is a serious step backward and is an unwarranted  departure from existing law. Virginia’s streams, rivers, and Chesapeake Bay belong to all of us. Public access to runoff prevention plans is critical to holding builders and developers accountable. Please revise the proposed permit to assure unrestricted public access to all runoff prevention plans.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

 

CommentID: 28277