The Grading and Excavation Contractor Blogs

We hear a lot about the fines various agencies dole out, and, yes, they can be company-busting, but generally they’re reserved for genuine bad actors who choose to flaunt regulations without making any real effort to comply. A more likely situation involves the failure of an installation where you have to stop what you’re doing—maybe even break camp on a completely different job—to go back and clean, replace, or perhaps create from scratch a system or practice you thought was out of your life for good.

It needn’t be anything monumental like the slump of a hillside or undermining of a roadway to suck the profit out of what should have been a good project. Even something as simple as having to go back and flush out a storm drain that has become clogged with construction debris after you’ve moved your crew offsite can cause damage not only to your bank account, but to your reputation as well.

Living With Change

Several years ago we reported on the EPA’s novel approach to regulatory compliance in targeting large developers such as Wal-Mart, and how that retailing giant had chosen to respond to a consent decree regarding its stormwater and erosion control activities in site development. If you recall, Wal-Mart requires all earthmoving contractors to take its training course and become (and remain) certified prior to being allowed even to bid on its jobs.

Now you might think to yourself, “Who cares? I don’t plan to work for Wal-Mart (or other large developers with similar conditions).” Well, you might want to think again, because what’s happening—as the EPA had in mind when it traded in its “beat on the head with a stick” approach for a smoother but no less diabolical “subvert from within” strategy—those Wal-Mart-certified contractors will soon be bidding against you (if they are not already), and they are now “on the side of the angels” from the regulators’ standpoint. How’s that?

Contractors who have availed themselves of regulatory compliance training programs and achieved recognized certifications (1) have an advantage over those who haven’t regardless of whose project they’re bidding on (put yourself in the shoes of any developer and see who you would choose to work on your project) and (2) once certified can’t then claim ignorance of regulatory requirements. Think of it as the reverse of the stick-and-carrot approach where you are given the carrot first but you get to carry around the stick to beat yourself with if you foul up … pretty sneaky regulating when you think about it.

Side With the Angels

I’d like to think that if you (or people working for you) don’t already hold stormwater or erosion control certifications, you’re wondering, “How do I go about getting certified?”

As you know by now, Wal-Mart and other large developers have created their own programs, but you have other choices as well, including your local regulatory agencies. But I would like to suggest that you stop right now and arrange for your free subscriptions to Stormwater and Erosion Control, both of which can be accomplished through our Internet portal at [WEB]www.forester.net[WEB]. Simply click on “Subscribe” in the upper left corner and then follow the instructions. Both magazines are filled cover-to-cover with valuable information on their respective subject areas and educational and certification opportunities, and their Web sites—accessible via the same portal—maintain libraries of prior issues.