FEDS ON PROWL FOR STORM WATER VIOLATIONS

Four of the country's largest public home builders recently agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and several state governments for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. That should raise red flags for builders everywhere. The feds are looking for builders to prosecute; these may be first, but they will not be the last. And all it takes to make you a target is sloppy paperwork and inconsistent processes for storm water management.

The federal EPA worked this case for five years. It may be an exaggeration to call it a "sting," but it was certainly meant to send a message to the entire housing industry. Centex Corp., KB Home, Pulte Homes and MDC Holdings (Richmond American Homes) agreed to pay the fines for allegedly failing to prevent silt and debris-laden runoff from leaving construction sites in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Centex agreed to the largest fine: nearly $1.49 million. KB was penalized almost $1.19 million. Pulte will pay a fine of $877,000 and complete a $608,000 project to reduce sediment entering a Northern California watershed. MDC's fine was $795,000.

Seven states joined in the settlements: Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

"We've put processes in place to deal with these issues," says Eric Bruner, director of public relations for Centex. "We now have special training for all our field managers and division construction officers. We also have mandatory training for all employees working in construction and land acquisition. We standardized processes for storm water inspections and put specific individuals in place as storm water representatives at every construction site and at the division level." Bruner says Centex shares the government's interest in clean waterways.

You'd better jump on that bandwagon. Otherwise, when it rains, you will pay.

— Bill Lurz 

BEAZER DROPS FRESNO MARKET

Beazer Homes announced it will stop building new homes in the Fresno market and will leave effective Sept. 30. A report from Dataquick Information Systems showed new home sales in Fresno dropped 35 percent in May compared to the same period a year before. Beazer officials said in a prepared statement that "any homes under construction in the Fresno area will be completed and sold, homeowner warranties will be honored and any undeveloped lots may be sold." Beazer leaves the area with four developments still offering homes: Ashlan Village, Avalon Estates, Cypress Grove at Sunnyside Estate and Providence at Sunnyside Estate. In addition to exiting the Fresno market, Beazer, based in Atlanta, will also stop building homes in Cincinnati, Denver and Charlotte, N.C. Officials from the company were unavailable for comment.