In the spirit of sovereign tribal governance and in recognition of the historical role tribal governments have held in resource management, the EPA’s Treatment as a State (TAS) program under the Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes water quality standard development, enforcement capacity, and fundingfor tribal governments.
What is the goal of the Clean Water Act?
A stated goal of the CWA is to eliminate discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, as that term is defined in CWA § 502 (7) and corresponding case law. Federal facilities have regulatory responsibilities under the Clean Water Act, including:
What is the Clean Water Rule and why does it matter?
EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the Clean Water Rule to clearly protect the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. Protection for many of the nation’s streams and wetlands has been confusing, complex, and time-consuming as the result of Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006.
Does the Clean Water Act apply to navigable waters?
The Clean Water Act protects waters with a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters" or “waters of the United States”. The term "significant nexus" is open to interpretation (and relatively controversial), but the general consensus is that the Act applies to any relatively permanent water features in the U. S.
What did the Supreme Court say about the National Water Act?
The Supreme Court questioned federal jurisdiction as it attempted to define the Act's use of the terms "navigable waters" and "waters of the United States." The Court rejected the position of the USACE that its authority over water was essentially limitless.
What is the role of the states under the Clean Water Act?
Under the Clean Water Act, state governments have primary responsibility over establishing, reviewing, and revising water quality standards. They also monitor waterways to ensure that bodies of water meet standards.
What is treatment as a state?
In the United States, treatment as a state (TAS) provisions enable eligible Native American tribes to assume the same responsibilities as state governments in setting and implement- ing water quality standards (WQSs).
What is protected under the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is one of the most comprehensive environmental statutes in the United States. It seeks to protect both human health and ecological resources, to maintain healthy waters, and to restore waters that are impaired.
What is Section 518 of the Clean Water Act?
Section 518 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes EPA to treat eligible Indian tribes with reservations in a similar manner to states (TAS) for a variety of purposes, including administering each of the principal CWA regulatory programs and receiving grants under several CWA authorities.
Does Clean Water Act apply to tribes?
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 518(e) expressly provides for Indian tribes to play essentially the same role in Indian country that states do within state lands, authorizing EPA to treat eligible federally recognized Indian tribes in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for implementing and managing certain environmental ...
Is the Clean Water Act still in effect?
The 2015 Clean Water Rule was repealed by the 2019 Rule, which reinstated the 1980s regulations, implemented consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court cases and applicable guidance.
Which environmental issue is directly addressed by the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act also regulates point source water pollution. These single identifiable sources include leaking pipes, ditches, farms, smoke stacks and more. This regulation impacts countless industries, from agriculture to manufacturing to sewage treatment.
What do you mean by water quality standards?
Water quality standards are provisions of state, territorial, authorized tribal or federal law approved by EPA that describe the desired condition of a waterbody or the level of protection or mandate how the desired condition will be expressed or established for such waters in the future.
What is the entity responsible to develop and set state and Indian tribal adopted water quality standards?
EPA develops regulations, policies, and guidance to facilitate the implementation of the water quality standards program.
What kinds of controls are in place to ensure the safety of our water?
To ensure that drinking water is safe, SDWA sets up multiple barriers against pollution. These barriers include: source water protection, treatment, distribution system integrity, and public information. Public water systems are responsible for ensuring that contaminants in tap water do not exceed the standards.
What is the EPA's role in the CWA?
Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. EPA has also developed national water quality criteria recommendations for pollutants in surface waters.
What is the EPA?
EPA History: Clean Water Act. The Office of Water (OW) ensures drinking water is safe, and restores and maintains oceans, watersheds, and their aquatic ecosystems to protect human health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife. The EPA Watershed Academy provides training courses on ...
What is the Clean Water Act?
Summary: The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary Federal statute regulating the protection of the nation’s water. The CWA aims to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution in the nation's water in order to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters", as described in CWA section 101 (a).
What is the EPA's mission?
maintaining records. Part of EPA's mission is to ensure that Federal facilities (and Federal facility contractors) comply with these requirements. Based on the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, the CWA underwent significant reorganization and expansion in 1972, with subsequent major amendments in 1977 and 1987.
What is the purpose of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996?
The National Defense Authorization Act of 1996 amended section 312 by directing EPA and the Department of Defense to jointly establish Uniform National Discharge Standards for discharges (other than sewage) incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces.
What is a CWA 309 C?
Criminal fines may be imposed under either CWA § 309 (c) or 18 U.S.C. § 3571, the Alternative Fines Act. Enforcement of criminal violations is authorized under CWA § 309 (c) for negligent and knowing violations, for knowing endangerments, and for making false statements.
What is discharge from a large or medium municipal separate storm sewer system?
discharge which EPA or the state/tribe determines contributes to a violation of a water quality standard or which is a significant contributor of pollutants to waters of the United States.
What is the CWA 518?
CWA § 518 provides that EPA may treat Federally-recognized Indian Tribes in the same manner as States with respect to several CWA provisions including § 309. Eligible federally-recognized Tribal governments may be authorized by EPA to undertake certain activities under the CWA, such as Sections 303, 401, 402, and 404, and water quality planning pursuant to 40 C.F.R. Part 130.
What is the requirement for disposal of sewage?
All treatment works that treat domestic sewage are required to meet Federal requirements for the use and disposal of sewage sludge through land application, surface disposal, or incineration. These requirements are incorporated into permits issued under § 402 of CWA, under the appropriate provisions of other legislation (e.g., Solid Waste Disposal Act), under EPA-approved State sludge management programs, or, in the case of a treatment works that is not subject to the above requirements, in a sludge-only permit.
What is the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act ( CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and providing assistance to states to do so, ...
When did Trump sign the Clean Water Rule?
On February 28, 2017 , President Donald Trump signed documents directing EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to review and rewrite the Obama administration's " Clean Water Rule ," which would clarify the WOTUS definition.
What is the purpose of the 1972 CWA?
The 1972 CWA created a new requirement for technology-based standards for point source discharges. EPA develops those standards for categories of dischargers, based on the performance of pollution control technologies without regard to the conditions of a particular receiving water body. The intent of Congress was to create a "level playing field" by establishing a basic national discharge standard for all facilities within a category, using a " Best Available Technology ." The standard becomes the minimum regulatory requirement in a permit. If the national standard is not sufficiently protective at a particular location, then water quality standards may be employed.
What is a significant nexus in CWA?
All waters with a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters" are covered under the CWA; however, the phrase "significant nexus" remains open to judicial interpretation and considerable controversy. The 1972 statute frequently uses the term "navigable waters" but also defines the term as "waters of the United States, including the territorial seas." Some regulations interpreting the 1972 law have included water features such as intermittent streams, playa lakes, prairie potholes, sloughs and wetlands as "waters of the United States." In 2006, in Rapanos v. United States, a plurality of the US Supreme Court held that the term "waters of the United States" "includes only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water 'forming geographic features' that are described in ordinary parlance as 'streams ]... oceans, rivers, [and] lakes.'" Since Rapanos the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have attempted to define protected waters in the context of Rapanos through the 2015 Clean Water Rule but this has been highly controversial.
How do federally recognized Indigenous Nations and states protect designated areas?
Federally recognized Indigenous Nations and states protect designated areas by adopting water quality criteria that the EPA publishes under §304 (a) of the CWA, modifying the §304 (a) criteria to reflect site-specific conditions or adopting criteria based on other scientifically defensible methods.
When did the EPA issue the WOTUS rule?
In May 2015 EPA released a new rule on the definition of "waters of the United States" ("WOTUS") and the future enforcement of the act. Thirteen states sued, and on August 27 U.S. Chief District Judge for North Dakota Ralph R. Erickson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the regulation in those states.
What is the water of the United States?
United States, a plurality of the US Supreme Court held that the term "waters of the United States" "includes only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water 'forming geographic features' that are described in ordinary parlance as 'streams ]... oceans, rivers, [and] lakes.'".
What is it?
Are you one of the many people who believe that this law has something to do with the water coming out of your faucets, as well as the kind that we drink?
The Clean Water Act vs Safe Drinking Water Act
Given that this law covers the waters used for navigation and commerce, as well as their adjacent wetlands, you may think that it does not really apply to you. Your concern may lie on how safe the supply that you use every day is, and this is covered by the Safe Drinking Water Act, or SDWA.
What Does the CWA Do?
With the establishment of the CWA, the dumping of pollutants became highly regulated. By monitoring and controlling the point source pollution, they are one step closer to achieving the main objective of the law, which is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”
History
It is not enough that you have a general idea of what the CWA is all about. You must also learn its history to understand why this law is pivotal not just in the US but even in other countries.
Why Was It Created?
Many of the country’s laws were created in response to a single catalyst, but the CWA is not one of them.
Section 404
While there are several sections under the CWAt, there are specific ones that are noteworthy. One of those is Section 404, which is considered as one of the cores of the entire this law.
Section 401
Section 401 is known as the “water quality certification program”, WQC, which authorizes the state and specific tribes to issue the required certificates or permits to entities who will conduct any activity that can result in the discharge of dredge or fill material into the waters, but only after a careful review.
What is the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act protects navigable waterways and their tributaries. The rule says that a tributary must show physical features of flowing water – a bed, bank, and ordinary high water mark – to warrant protection.
Who is responsible for the Clean Water Act?
For over a decade, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have received requests for a rulemaking to provide clarity on protections under the Clean Water Act from members of Congress, state and local officials, industry, agriculture, environmental groups, scientists, and the public.
What is the Texas wetlands rule?
The rule protects prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, western vernal pools in California, and Texas coastal prairie wetlands when they impact downstream waters. Focuses on streams, not ditches. The rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream.
Why did the EPA create the Clean Water Rule?
Army Corps of Engineers finalized the Clean Water Rule to clearly protect the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources.
Why is the rule important?
Provides certainty in how far safeguards extend to nearby waters. The rule protects waters that are next to rivers and lakes and their tributaries because science shows that they impact downstream waters. The rule sets boundaries on covering nearby waters for the first time that are physical and measurable. Protects the nation’s regional water ...
What is the rule of the water?
The rule sets boundaries on covering nearby waters for the first time that are physical and measurable. Protects the nation’s regional water treasures. Science shows that specific water features can function like a system and impact the health of downstream waters. The rule protects prairie potholes, Carolina and Delmarva bays, pocosins, ...
What is the rule that limits protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like streams and can carry
The rule limits protection to ditches that are constructed out of streams or function like streams and can carry pollution downstream. So ditches that are not constructed in streams and that flow only when it rains are not covered.
What Does the Clean Water Act Do?
The CWA sets standards in relation to water quality. Industries must follow the CWA’s standards for waste discharges, as well as point-source pollution (discharged by factories, sewers, and other sources), and problems like oil spills and toxic chemical spills.
Why is the Clean Water Act Needed?
Without the Clean Water Act, there would be no standards in place to prevent dangerous and toxic materials (like pesticides, arsenic, and bacteria from sewage) from entering the water sources and water distribution systems in the U.S.
What Does the Clean Water Act Protect?
The Clean Water Act protects waters with a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters" or “waters of the United States”.
Benefits of the Clean Water Act
The CWA aims to prevent pollution in natural water and water treatment plants, which has the following benefits:
How to Get Involved in the CWA Process
The CWA allows members of the public to get involved in its process, with public hearings, data submission, and public comment opportunities. You can find CWA opportunities through your state’s environmental department website.
About the author
Brian Campbell is the founder of WaterFilterGuru.com, where he blogs about all things water quality. His passion for helping people get access to clean, safe water flows through the expert industry coverage he provides. Follow him on twitter @WF_Guru or contact him by email [email protected]
Background
- Health implications of water pollution
Contamination of drinking water supplies can not only occur in the source water but also in the distribution system. Sources of water contamination include naturally occurring chemicals and minerals (arsenic, radon, uranium), local land use practices (fertilizers, pesticides, concentrated …
Waters Protected
- All waters with a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters" are covered under the CWA; however, the phrase "significant nexus" remains open to judicial interpretation and considerable controversy. The 1972 statute frequently uses the term "navigable waters" but also defines the term as "waters of the United States, including the territorial seas." Some regulations interpretin…
Pollution Control Strategy
- Point sources
The CWA introduced the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a permit system for regulating point sources of pollution.Point sources include: 1. industrial facilities (including manufacturing, mining, shipping activities, oil and gas extraction and service industrie… - Nonpoint sources
Congress exempted some water pollution sources from the point source definition in the 1972 CWA and was unclear on the status of some other sources. Such sources were therefore considered to be nonpoint sourcesthat were not subject to the permit program. Agricultural stor…
Recent Developments
- Waters of the United States
In May 2015 EPA released a new rule on the definition of "waters of the United States" ("WOTUS") and the future enforcement of the act. Thirteen states sued, and on August 27 U.S. Chief District Judge for North Dakota Ralph R. Erickson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the regulatio…
Earlier Legislation
- During the 1880s and 1890s, Congress directed USACE to prevent dumping and filling in the nation's harbors, and the program was vigorously enforced. Congress first addressed water pollution issues in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, giving the Corps the authority to regulate most kinds of obstructions to navigation, including hazards resulting from effluents. Portions of …
Case Law
- United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. (1985). The Supreme Court upheld the Act's coverage in regulating wetlands that intermingle with navigable waters. This ruling was revised by the 2006...
- Edward Hanousek, Jr v. United States (9th Cir. Court of Appeals, 1996; certiorari denied, 2000). In 1994, during rock removal operations, a backhoe operator accidentally struck a petroleum …
- United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. (1985). The Supreme Court upheld the Act's coverage in regulating wetlands that intermingle with navigable waters. This ruling was revised by the 2006...
- Edward Hanousek, Jr v. United States (9th Cir. Court of Appeals, 1996; certiorari denied, 2000). In 1994, during rock removal operations, a backhoe operator accidentally struck a petroleum pipeline...
- Solid Waste Agency of North Cook County (SWANCC) v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (2001), possibly denying the CWA's hold in isolated intrastate waters and certainly denying the validity of...
- S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Bd. of Env. Protection (2006). The Court ruled that section 401 stat…
Effects
- To date, the water quality goals stated by Congress in the 1972 act have not been achieved by American society: 1. "to make all U.S. waters fishable and swimmable by 1983;" 2. "to have zero water pollution discharge by 1985;" 3. "to prohibit discharge of toxic amounts of toxic pollutants".: 1 More than half of U.S. stream and river miles, about 70 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs, …
See Also