A small win: EPA Notice on Logging Road Rules Revisions
The Environmental Protection Agency will issue a rule to specify that logging roads do not need discharge permits for stormwater runoff from logging roads, according to a notice released May 21.
The rule is intended to protect the status quo on logging roads–on both public and private land–by specifying that they should be operated under best management practices, often developed by states, rather than regulated with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act.
The EPA notice is to be published in the May 23 Federal Register.
EPA said it will use its authority under Section 402(p) to specify that stormwater runoff from logging roads are not discharges “associated with industrial activity.”
