Local governments could no longer make stricter laws for stormwater on construction sites under House Bill 1037. Sediment, debris, bacteria and chemicals can wash off a construction site and pollute streams and lakes nearby.
The bill passed committee last week and is being considered in the full House.
Rep. Doug Miller (R-Elkhart) is stewarding the bill for its original author, former Rep. Alan Morrison (R-Brazil) — who left his position to become the new head of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources.
Miller said the bill would provide certainty to developers.
“There's a good set of rules and guidelines that are in place. We just don't want to get more stringent than and we don't want to have differentiating rules across the state," he said.
Miller himself is a property manager and owns Creekside Realty, LLC and White Pines Properties, LLC.
While home developers and manufacturers support the bill, environmental groups and some stormwater experts have concerns.
Indianapolis Stormwater Administrator Shannon Killion said the state only covers stormwater runoff from construction on larger properties.
“Without the ability to adopt these local protections, we risk property owners adjacent to developments less than one acre to experience flooding for the first time," she said.
Killion said this could leave those homeowners with losses they can't recover because they didn't think they would need flood insurance. She said local laws can also ensure there isn’t more pollution washing off of these small lots and into waterways like Geist Reservoir.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele .
