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Builder to Pay $250K in EPA Case

FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014


One of the nation’s largest home builders has agreed to pay $250,000 in federal fines to resolve allegations of Clean Water Act violations at building sites across Utah.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleges that Ivory Homes LLC, based in Salt Lake City, UT, failed to take legally required actions to prevent the discharge of sediment into nearby surface waters.

Strawberry River in Utah
Steve Motzus / Wikimedia Commons
Sediment-laden runoff from home building construction sites can affect waterways.
Strawberry River in Utah
Steve Motzus / Wikimedia Commons

Sediment-laden runoff from home building construction sites can affect waterways.

Sediment-laden runoff from construction sites can pollute local waterways, the EPA said.

Ivory Homes is Utah’s largest home builder and one of the nation’s 50 largest home builders. Founded in 1983, the company constructs townhomes, move-up homes, vacation homes and luxury villas. It has built more than 10,000 homes since 1990, according to its website.

Settlement Details

The agreement with Ivory resolves alleged stormwater permit violations discovered through a series of inspections conducted in 2008 at Ivory Homes’ construction sites throughout Utah, the EPA announced Tuesday (June 24).

The EPA cited “repeated failure” by the developer to comply with permit requirements to install stormwater pollution controls; conduct required inspections; and prevent the discharge of construction materials to nearby surface waters.

stormwater management
EPA

As stormwater flows over a construction site, it can pick up pollutants and carry them to a nearby storm sewer system or directly to a river, lake, or coastal water. More information about stormwater management is available here.

In addition to the fine, the settlement also requires Ivory Homes to invest in a “company-wide compliance program to improve employee training and stormwater management at all current and future construction sites,” according to the EPA.

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Quikspray, Inc.

“The settlement will help prevent hundreds of thousands of pounds of sediment from entering Utah's waterways as a result of construction activities,” the EPA said.

Company Statement

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In a statement provided to a local newspaper, a spokesman said Ivory Homes was pleased with the resolution in the case.

Ivory Homes
Ivory Homes' Blog

Ivory Homes is Utah’s largest home builder and one of the nation’s 50 largest homebuilders.

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Seymour Midwest

“We are proud of our environmental record, particularly our storm-water compliance record,” chief operating officer David Broadbent told the Salt Lake City Tribune.

“We are the first and the only home builder in Utah to implement a robust, companywide program to safeguard against sediment from entering Utah waters as a result of home-building activities.”

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Broadbent said the company had stormwater control measures in place before the allegations arose but has since made significant improvements to its program.

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Tagged categories: Clean Water Act; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Good Technical Practice; Home builders; Residential Construction; Residential contractors


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