Mandatory Questionnaires Part of New EPA Stormwater Rulemaking

In support of this rulemaking, EPA will seek approval to distribute three mandatory questionnaires under the authority of the Clean Water Act, to inform the rulemaking that the agency says would strengthen national stormwater regulations and establish a comprehensive program to reduce stormwater discharges from newly developed and redeveloped sites.

EPA is requesting comments on the proposed Information Collection Request, including the associated burden estimate, but is not requesting completion of questionnaires at this time. The proposed Information Collection Request will be open for public comment for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register, which occurred on October 30.

EPA is proposing to require three different groups to complete separate questionnaires about current stormwater management practices:

1) the owners, operators, developers, and contractors of newly and redeveloped sites

2) the owners and operators of municipal separate storm sewer systems

3) states and territories

The survey would require detailed information about stormwater management and control practices, local regulations, and baseline financial information. The questionnaires are a one time only data collection activity, the EPA says.

In its statement supporting the need for the survey, EPA says it would use the data collected to develop a national profile of existing local and state stormwater requirements, stormwater discharges, in-place stormwater management and control practices; and to evaluate the current prevalence of implementing retention practices at newly and redeveloped sites.

The Industry Questionnaire would identify the respondent and collect technical and financial information from owners, developers, and contractors. The target population is all construction and development establishments in the United States from new single-family home builders to commercial and institutional builders to highway, street and bridge construction.

The questionnaire would request information from firms' balance sheets on assets, liabilities, net worth and cash flow. The agency says this information will be used in the economic/financial analysis to establish the firm’s baseline financial performance and condition and to estimate certain financial information required in the analysis, including, in particular, cost of capital.

EPA would analyze the collected information to develop an industry profile of the current stormwater management practices in the United States.

The State and MS4 Questionnaires would collect baseline information about annual budgets for stormwater associated activities, stormwater standards currently in place, incentives for implementing retention practices into site plans and information on inspection and enforcement activities.

EPA would use this analysis, along with financial information to estimate the economic impacts of implementing stormwater practices and technologies on both the entities responsible for implementing these technologies and those responsible for maintaining the technology and enforcing the standards.

EPA would select appropriate regulatory options to control pollutant discharges associated with stormwater management based on the results of those analyses and data from other EPA collection efforts.

EPA engineers, statisticians, economists, biologists, and contractors would perform detailed analyses of the data collected through the questionnaires.

The EPA team also would collect information from additional sources, such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration precipitation data. The technical data would include basic construction site information, such as acreage and geographic location, stormwater conveyance and treatment information, and detailed stormwater treatment system cost data.

For further details on the questions to be asked and how to submit comments on the EPA's need for this information, visit: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/survey_sup.pdf