EPA Clean Water Act (CWA)

This Powerpoint

Gives a broad overview of the Clean Water Act, with specific focus to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Legislative History
• Main Functions
• How the CWA works to regulate water
• Water Quality Standards
• What happens if WQS are met?
• What happens if they are not met?
• Section 319
• Section 401
• Section 404
• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System - Overview
• Who needs an NPDES Permit?
• General vs. Individual Permits
• Monitoring and Compliance of Individual Permits
• Key Definitions
• Massachusetts and NPDES Permitting
• Want to learn more?

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Overview

The Clean Water Act is the common name for a series of regulations and amendments that governs discharges of pollutants to waters of the United States and sets and seeks to maintain water quality standards for waters of the United States.

Legislative History

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Link to current CWA

Main Functions

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1. Regulate direct pollutant discharges through mandatory permitting (NPDES)
2. Establish water quality standards
3. Finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities
4. Manage polluted runoff”
1. Through educational, voluntary (like cost-sharing) programs

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Visualized by the Jupyter Notebook

How it all works

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Water Quality Standards (WQS)

• A system that classifies all water bodies considered “Waters of the US” (see definitions slide) by defining their
• Designated Use
1. What is this water mainly used for, when, and for whom?
• Water Quality Criteria
• Chemical, physical, and/or biological goals to protect that designated uses of the water body for aquatic life, human health, and/or wildlife
• Antidegradation Procedure
• Policies to ensure high quality waters stay high quality

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What if WQS are met after Monitoring?

Permitting begins using the regulations listed below in order to maintain water quality

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What if WQS are NOT met after Monitoring?

First, Section 303(d) applies:

This water is now considered “impaired” and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of specific pollutants are defined. These TMDLs are then enforced using the NPDES, Section 319, Section 401, Section 404, and the SRF.

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Section 319

• Covers Non-Point Sources: the MOST significant source of water pollution in the US
• Not detailed in data we can access via the Jupyter Notebook
• Non-Point Sources are regulated by
• States or Tribes
• Federal Grants to facilitate cost-sharing and incentivize voluntary programs

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Section 401

• A provision that mandates that federal agencies seek a certification from states and/or tribes before permitting any further discharges.
• The certification must:
• verify that a water body is already in compliance with all other parts of the CWA

OR

• Wave the requirement

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Section 404

• Guides permitting for “discharge of dredged or fill materials in WOTUS”
• Administered by the EPA and The U.S Army Corps of Engineers
• Mainly covers the following type of projects:
• Fill for development
• Dams and Levees
• Highways and Airports
• Mining

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National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Program - Overview

• Permits point source pollutants from Waters of the United States

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• Applies (almost entirely, but not exclusively) to direct discharges to surface waters

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NPDES Permits = what we’re visualizing with the Notebooks!

Who needs an NPDES Permit?

• Any entity that is discharge pollution from a point source into waters of the United States (see definitions)
• But mostly:
• Industrial facilities
• Municipal facilities
• Such as Wastewater Treatment Plants

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General vs. Individual Permits

General Permits

• Apply to all facilities within a geographic area
• Granted by the permitting authority (state or EPA) after it deems there are several facilities discharging to the same water body that would have very similar/identical permit requirements
• Once issued, an individual facility may apply to join the general permit

Individual Permits

• Cover 1 facility

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• Details specific conditions for that facility and water body

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• Granted after a facility applies

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Monitoring and Compliance of Individual Permits

• Facilities self-report with a Discharge Monitoring Report using an online system
• Each permit has minimum reporting requirements
• Most facilities report 3 times per quarter, or once a month
• Violations occur when:
• A pollutant is exceeded - this is known as an effluent violation
• A facility fails to report on schedule

Key Definitions on Discharges- Pollutant

The CWA makes it illegal to discharge any pollutant from a point source into Waters of the United States without a permit.

Pollutant

CWA Section 502 (6) -

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Key Definitions on Discharges- Point Source

The CWA makes it illegal to discharge any pollutant from a point source into Waters of the United States without a permit.

Point Source: CWA Section 502 (14) -

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Key Definitions on Discharges- Navigable Waters

The CWA makes it illegal to discharge any pollutant from a point source into Waters of the United States without a permit.

“Waters of the United States” = “navigable waters, tributaries to navigable waters, interstate waters, the oceans out to 200 miles, and intrastate waters which are used: by interstate travelers for recreation or other purposes, as a source of fish or shellfish sold in interstate commerce, or for industrial purposes by industries engaged in interstate commerce.”

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Current Interpretation:

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Massachusetts and NPDES Permitting

• Massachusetts is one of 3 states (+ DC) whose state environmental agencies are not authorized to implement their own NPDES program, meaning the EPA is directly responsible for NPDES in Massachusetts.

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Map Source

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Want to Learn More?

EPA’s Module on the CWA

NPDES Permitting Page

Waters of the US Rulings

CWA-Specific Jupyter Notebook