EPA targets construction-site pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule aimed at reducing pollution from construction sites, saying that it will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide, the Wall Street Journal online edition reports.

The rule will be phased in over four years, starting in February, and when it is fully in effect, the EPA estimates there will be 4 billion fewer pounds of sediment discharged from construction sites each year, according to the WSJ report. Nearly 82,000 homebuilders, commercial and industrial building contractors, and civil-engineering companies are expected to be covered by the rule, which the EPA estimates will impose about $953 million of annual costs, according to the report.