Puerto Rico Highway Contractors Violate Stormwater Rules, EPA Charges

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it had issued administrative orders to the Puerto Rico Highway Authority and 18 of its construction contractors for allegedly failing to file required Notice of Intent (NOI) forms to obtain stormwater discharge permits for numerous highway construction sites. Information provided to the agency by the highway authority indicates that contractors at many ongoing highway construction projects throughout Puerto Rico have not submitted NOIs, according to the Region 2 announcement.

Under the administrative orders, the highway authority and contractors could be barred from clearing, grading, and excavating at the construction sites until they have submitted NOIs and had them approved by EPA, the announcement said.

The orders require each contractor to submit, implement, and certify a stormwater pollution prevention plan to ensure control of erosion and stormwater runoff from the sites, the announcement states.

Source: EPA