Wieland Homes settles Clean Water Act violations with EPA

By Péralte C. Paul

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta home builder John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc. will pay $350,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act stemming from five years ago.

A Wieland Homes affiliate, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods of the Carolinas Inc., also is a part of the settlement, one of the largest levied against a home builder this year.

"We changed our procedures five years ago as soon as they notified us," chief executive John Wieland said Monday. "We have not been cited since."

The violations cited allegedly occurred at 25 construction sites in Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas between 1999 and 2004, the EPA said.

They included not obtaining permits or obtaining them after construction began.  In other cases, violations included failure to prevent or minimize pollutants, including silt and debris, from going into storm-water runoff.

"Improving compliance at construction sites is one of the EPA's national enforcement priorities and this is one of the EPA's largest settlements with a homebuilder for storm-water violations at construction sites," said Davina Marraccini, an EPA spokeswoman.

As part of the settlement, Wieland has implemented several storm-water compliance programs throughout the company's operations.