New Clean Water Rule needed for environmentally-friendly development

Almost 60 years ago, my two business partners (and mentors) founded a real-estate development company with a passion for designing and developing alongside nature. Today, the legacy continues, and our company prides itself in creating low-impact sustainable communities that integrate alternative energy and environmental solutions. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate the built environment into the native land form, rather than the other way around, leaving trees and other natural features of the land intact.

But, in many states, environmentally-friendly developers have been faced with a difficult regulatory hurdle over the past several years. In 2015, the Obama administration and the EPA redefined the extent of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act, and authorized federal agencies to regulate most bodies of water across the United States – even small bodies of water that were already being successfully managed by local and state governments. The rule included dry lands, like ditches and gullies that are only sometimes wet.

I’m fortunate to operate in Florida, where our state successfully challenged the federal government and has blocked the rule’s implementation since 2015. Although I don’t face redundant requirements caused by the revised definition, I feel for my developer colleagues across America who regularly deal with complex regulatory frameworks.

With implementation of the rule, it became harder to get approved for projects, even when they were sustainable land-preserving projects. Developers spend millions of dollars in the mazes of regulation and many of our federal applications take years for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve. And the problem often isn’t the actual regulation, but the expansive bureaucracy that occurs at the federal level.

Barriers in federal regulation discourage builders and developers from creating thoughtful and sustainable communities with low environmental impacts. The rules drive people to develop in upland areas and to cut trees. This results in higher home prices. We should be making environmentally-friendly homes and communities more affordable for Americans, not less.

This does not mean no regulation at all; in fact, we’ve found environmental regulations are integral to helping us understand the context of a community’s needs. It means allowing states and local governments to regulate their own small bodies of water, more efficiently and more knowledgeably than regulators in the federal government.

This is why my family and I, and the entire building industry, welcomed the September repeal of the 2015 WOTUS rule by the EPA. We need a new WOTUS Clean Water rule that will clear up the confusion and bureaucracy that small businesses have to navigate with water management jurisdiction. Regulation of land that is sometimes wet and areas with small bodies of water should be left to local and state regulators because they know the areas well and can work more efficiently with local builders.

“Green” and “sustainable” have become familiar buzzwords over the past decade, but we have to consider what they really mean when it comes to our land and homes. Are we creating communities that protect natural systems, honor the local heritage, and promote local economies? Are we integrating the key elements of energy, water, waste, and food? Are we allowing for pedestrian, bicycle, and alternative vehicle access?

In order to accomplish this, we need to restore common-sense logic that says the federal government should focus on regulating permanent waterways like lakes, rivers and streams, while leaving regulation of water in ditches, streams, parking lots, and sometimes-wet dry areas to states and localities. We have seen that state and local governments can implement environmental protections that adequately support sustainable efforts with America’s builders, farmers and manufacturers.

The average American moves once every five years, often “outgrowing” their houses, jobs or neighborhoods and seeking out something better. I envision communities where people want to stay – where they want to live, work, raise their families, and eventually retire. This starts with beautiful development that integrates the natural landforms with the manmade. As a country, we have to support policies that make this possible.

Doug Davis is CEO of Fletcher Davis Company in St. Augustine, Fla., and a member of the National Association of Home Builders and Waters Advocacy Coalition.