The consent agreement — negotiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Justice Department and authorities in Maryland and Virginia — includes hundreds of water pollution violations. Toll Brothers also will invest in a company-wide stormwater compliance program to improve employee training and increase management oversight at all current and future residential construction sites across the nation. The company is required to inspect its current and future construction sites routinely to minimize stormwater runoff.
The company allegedly failed to comply with permits issued under the Clean Water Act that resulted in the discharge of pollutants from construction through stormwater runoff, settlement documents said.
New Jersey had 43 sites that violated the federal law, the second largest number out of the 23 states.The company allegedly failed to comply with permits issued under the Clean Water Act that resulted in the discharge of pollutants from construction through stormwater runoff, settlement documents said. Toll Brothers will pay a civil penalty of $741,000 to resolve the alleged violation of the Clean Water Act. About $702,000 will go to the federal government, with smaller amounts going to Maryland and Virginia. Toll Bros. Inc. have, so far, declined any comment on the settlement.
New Jersey will not receive any of the settlement money since it did not report any of the violations to the EPA or participate in the settlement. (Readers of this blog may recall our post on NJDEP's new LSRP policy and how it is letting the DEP skirt it;s responsibility for oversight of pollution violations. Is the DEP intentionally ignoring it's own regulations? Many environmental groups are coming to this conclusion. NJ Spotlight has published an interactive map of the NJ sites for which the Toll Bros. have made setttlemrent agreements.
(Photo by Geoff Gove)
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/06/toll_brothers_violate_clean_wa.html
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