Robert McClure builds on yesterday's blog post with a longer article about the PCHB's ruling on Phase II Clean Water Act permits for smaller cities (Seattle is a Phase I entity). It sounds as if the Board stepped back from requiring the smaller entities make low-impact development a requirement for builders. Then, he included this nugget:
Builders were not involved in the litigation before the hearings board. But industry officials have said many of their members already are employing low-impact development techniques. In fact, builders' representatives have said, more developers would use those methods if many governments didn't make it such a hassle to do so.
This jibes with my experience and I think it's sad that the agencies that are supposed to be on the frontline of protecting stormwater, won't be required to use this essential tool and, are in fact, a major obstacle to its voluntary use by the private sector.
We ain't going to get to a cleaner Puget Sound this way...
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