New Indiana Law Limits Local Governments on Stormwater from Construction Sites
A bill was just signed into law that bans local governments from making or enforcing laws that are stricter than Indiana state laws regulating stormwater runoff at many construction sites. House Enrolled Act 1037 provides a new code section amending the stormwater regulatory powers of local governments at Ind. Code § 36-1-3-14.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management requires a Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP) for all construction activities that result in land disturbances of one acre or more, including smaller disturbances that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale that add up to an acre or more. For these state-regulated construction sites, the new law provides that local governments do not have the power to adopt a law, rule, ordinance, or regulation “that is more stringent than or exceeds in any manner the requirements of the department of environmental management’s [GSGP]…” Such laws are now void. Financial assurances and post-construction drainage requirements also must not exceed the requirements associated with the IDEM-authorized construction stormwater permit.
The law goes further and describes what a local government unit may do for projects where the land disturbance is less than one acre. Where “sediment or dust” leaves these smaller disturbance sites, a local government unit may issue a written warning for corrective action. If corrective action “has not been initiated within forty-eight (48) hours of receiving the written warning” than the local government agency may issue a “stop work order” for the project site.
The law is currently effective as an emergency was declared in the act.