Clean Water Act: Policy Issue
Overview
The Clean Water Act (CWA) protects the nation's waterways by placing limits on how many pollutants properties can discharge. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granted the authority through the CWA to set pollution discharge limits and enforce regulations. The EPA also determines what qualifies as “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), referring to the navigable waters that fall under federal regulation. Under these laws, apartment owners must obtain federal permits and follow strict rules when they undertake any building activities. These rules aim to minimize the amount of pollutants, such as construction debris, soil or sand and other foreign materials, that could inadvertently make their way into the nation’s water resources.
Contact Information
To learn more about this issue, please contact NAA's Public Policy team.
NAA Position
The National Apartment Association (NAA), alongside our partner the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), believes that expanding the scope of the Clean Water Act would result in undue federal regulatory requirements for apartment owners. These additional hurdles not only fail to reflect the uniqueness of higher density apartment development but also would create delays, add costs, and ultimately limit construction and revitalization activity.
As an Owner or Operator, How Does this Affect My Business?
While the rental housing industry strongly supports protecting our water resources, the EPA has proposed a number of onerous regulatory expansions of the CWA and WOTUS that would significantly restrict both new apartment construction and redevelopment activities. Extending these rules to current multifamily properties would mean expensive renovations that might not be practical or suitable for some sites. These challenges could make housing harder to provide and lead to higher rent costs, exacerbating the nation’s struggle to meet growing rental demand.
More specifically, the apartment industry opposes changes in two areas:
- Definition of waters in WOTUS. Originally, the CWA limited federal authority to regulate so-called “navigable waters.” However, legal and political forces seek to expand the law’s reach to U.S. waters that are regulated at state and local levels. Previous recommended expansion would require developers to negotiate additional federal hurdles before breaking ground on land that has water or a tenuous connection to a body of water. This would have result in permitting delays, higher development costs and additional legal risks. The EPA proposed a new rule to change the regulations that determine which waters fall under federal protection in WOTUS.
- Stormwater management rules. EPA proposes new and significantly expanded stormwater management rules for already developed and redeveloped properties under the CWA. While EPA currently regulates stormwater discharges during new apartment construction, the proposed new rules would have repercussions for existing building operations and maintenance. The new regulations also would likely include new building design and performance standards, which could force apartment owners to invest in expensive and sometimes site-inappropriate materials and technologies.
For more information, read this article on the EPA's redefinition of WOTUS.