EPA Reaches Storm Water Settlement with Dependable Contracting, Inc.

Dependable Contracting, Inc., located in Priest River, Idaho, has reached a $7,500 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating federal storm water permitting requirements.

Documents central to the case reveal the following violations: operating without a required permit for four months, failure to have a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan and failure to stabilize a soil pile at a Priest River construction site.

According to Jim Werntz, EPA’s Idaho state director, storm water inspections are a very effective way to protect Idaho’s waters from sediment pollution that can choke rivers and lakes.

“While many builders and developers are doing a good job, there are some who are ignoring these important requirements,” Werntz said. “Builders and developers need to get the right permits and find out what’s required before they start work, or they will face fines.”

The agency asserts that the storm water-permitting program is a “central building block” to preventing water pollution and an important way that Idaho’s lakes, rivers and streams are protected against polluted runoff from construction sites. Storm water permits are part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Construction General Permit program.

Source: EPA