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Week of March 10, 2003

Front Page

President's Message

* Welcome to NBN Online

Housing Forum

* Tell Builders Where the Owls Are

Regulation

* INS Withdraws Rule That Would Have Clouded Foreigners' U.S. Vacation Plans
* California Lawmaker Tackles Regulatory Barriers to Housing

Housing Politics

* Economy Needs Boost From Bush Tax Plan, Builders Say
* Lumber Talks Hit a Bump in the Road
* Bankruptcy Reform Housing Provisions Supported
* Congress Approves Housing Spending Measures
* Government Procurement an Opportunity for Home Builders

Smart Growth

* Federal Involvement in Land Use Decisions Blasted
* Builder Appointed to Land Use Council

Housing and Economics

* Spotlight on: Columbia, SC

Sales & Marketing

* Manufacturers Can Be Rewarding Partners
* Winners of The Nationals Represent New Marketing Trends

Codes and Standards

* Building Codes Merger a Big Plus for Builders
* Action Kit Helps Fight Floodplain Regulation Changes

Construction Safety

* Toolbox Talk: If Your Home Owner Needs Railings, So Do You

Environment

* Clean Water Bill Fails to Address Wetlands Concerns

Labor

* Female U.S. Veterans Pursue Careers in Housing
* HBI a One-Stop Resource for Work Force Needs

Multifamily

* Effort Seeks Increase of Affordable Rental Housing Supply

For Consumers

* High Ceilings Increasingly Popular

Building News Coast To Coast

Association News & Events

* More ‘Building Homes of Our Own’ CD-ROMs on the Way
* Calendar of Events
* 2003 NAHB Leadership

NBN Back Issues
 

Clean Water Bill Fails to Address Wetlands Concerns

The nation’s home builders reacted with disappointment to wetlands-related legislation introduced in the Congress on Feb.27 and said they would welcome an open debate over amending the Clean Water Act.

NAHB Executive Vice President Jerry Howard charged that the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2003 fails to address wetlands regulatory problems under Sec. 404 of the Clean Water Act. “Rather than furthering the protection of wetlands, the bill will exacerbate existing inefficiencies and tread on the carefully planned state and federal balance envisioned by the Clean Water Act for protecting the nation’s waters.”

What is missing in the Clean Water Act now, said Howard, is an efficient permitting process for development activities in wetlands having a minimal impact on the environment. Waves of regulation, he said, have made the existing Nationwide Permitting Process practically useless.

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In effect, the newly proposed legislation would “elevate roadside ditches to the same level as wetlands in the Everglades,” Howard said

“This level of ‘protection’ would be cost-prohibitive and diminish the ability of federal agencies to protect other, more valuable aquatic systems,” he said.

Howard added that Congress intended the Clean Water Act to protect and regulate navigable waters of the United States that can be used for interstate commerce, “not just any vernal pool, prairie pothole or puddle that can navigated by a water molecule.”

 For more information on this legislation, go to Sen. Russell Feingold’s Web site.
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