Introduction
Nearly 40 percent of all surveyed bodies of water in the U.S. do not meet the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPAs) water quality standards because of untreated polluted runoff that is often discharged directly into those water bodies.
This water pollution results in the destruction of fish and aquatic habitats, loss in aesthetic value and threats to public health due to contaminated food, drinking water and recreational waterways.
The 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of any pollutant from a point source into a U.S. body of water unless that discharge is authorized by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
Definitions
A pollutant has broad definitions in the CWA and can include any type of industrial, municipal and agricultural waste discharged into the water.
Some examples of pollutants include dredged soil, sewage, garbage, chemical waste, biological waste, radioactive materials, pesticides, discarded equipment, rock, sand and cellar dirt.
A point source is any confined and discrete conveyance such as a pipe, ditch, storm drain, channel, tunnel or container. This can include vessels or other floating craft from which pollutants are discharged.
A U.S. body of water is any navigable water, interstate waters and oceans out to 200 miles from the coast.
The Clean Water Act: Phase I
The CWA was amended by Congress in 1987. This amendment required the EPA to establish phased NPDES requirements for storm water discharges. The EPA published the Phase I NPDES permit application requirements for certain industries and large municipal separate storm sewer systems in 1990. More than 100,000 industrial facilities were directly affected by this requirement.
Typical industrial facilities include but are not limited to:
Phase I also included the medium and large MS4s. An MS4 is any municipal separate storm sewer system in an incorporated place that serves a population of over 100,000 people.
The Clean Water Act: Phase II
The EPA promulgated application requirements for Phase II Storm Water Program in August of 1995. Phase II required all small MS4s that discharged pollutants into a U.S. body of water to have an NPDES permit. A small MS4 is a municipal separate storm sewer system that services populations of less than 100,000. Construction activities disturbing between one and five acres must also be permitted. All Phase II regulated entities must be permitted by March of 2003.
Regulated small MS4s and construction sites must design programs to reduce their discharge to the maximum extent practicable, protect water quality and satisfy the water quality requirements of the CWA.
The Phase II rule also defines the storm water management program as a program comprised of the following six Best Management Practices or BMPs:
The NPDES permit
An NPDES permit will specify the acceptable level of a pollutant in a discharge. Acceptable levels are determined by the State or Federal EPA.
NPDES permits are issued by states that have obtained approval from the EPA or through the EPA Regions in states without approval. The permits require the facility to sample its discharges and report to the regulatory agency the results.
Federal laws provide the EPA with various methods of taking enforcement against permit violators. These enforcements include correcting violations, monetary fines, and civil and criminal actions against willful violators.
The facility monitoring reports are public documents that are available to the general public. If any member of the general public finds a facility violating its NPDES permit, legal action can be taken.
The CWA limits the lengths of NPDES permits to five years. The permits can be renewed at any time after the permit holder applies. Most NPDES permits include the following:
It also includes quantitative testing data for the following parameters:
Commonly Asked Questions
Sources For More Information
40 CFR Part 122 Clean Water Act www.epa.gov www.epa.gov/OW
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