Civil Enforcement

EPA's Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement programs are designed to protect and to improve the quality of the nation's waters. These programs are as follows:

• National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program -- The purpose of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program is to protect health and the environment by regulating point source discharges to the nation's waters. A point source is any discrete conveyance (e.g., pipe, ditch, spillway, etc.). The core NPDES program covers approximately 15,000 publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) and approximately 85,000 industrial dischargers (including Federal Facilities). EPA has divided the universe by designating dischargers as either 'majors' or 'minors'. POTW majors are those discharging equal to or greater than 1 million gallons per day (mgd). There are approximately 4,000 major POTWs. There are approximately 2900 major industrials.
  
  NPDES permits can be issued to individual dischargers or can be issued for a group of dischargers (i.e., general permits). Both individual and general permits contain requirements for controlling pollutant dischargers (e.g., technology-based or water quality-based effluent limits), monitoring discharges, reporting compliance, etc. Permits may only be issued for a period of five years. Currently 44 States and one Territory have been authorized to issue NPDES permits and conduct compliance and enforcement activities.

• Wet Weather Enforcement Programs -- These programs, which are sub-components of the NPDES program, address wet weather discharges such as runoff from rainfall or snowmelts, and include the following programs: Storm Water Program, Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSOs) Program, Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs) Program, and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) Program. (Additional Information)
  
  
  1. Storm Water Program -- The 1987 Amendments to the CWA included the addition of Section 402(p) which established phased NPDES permit requirements for municipal and industrial storm water discharges. Storm water discharges are nationwide occurrences. The total number of storm water dischargers is unknown but expected to be several hundred thousand. Storm water runoff poses a significant threat to public health and the environment, and remains a leading cause of water quality impairment.
     
  2. Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSOs) Program -- SSOs are overflows or releases from sanitary sewer systems and are illegal under the CWA. Municipal systems with separate sanitary sewers may have overflows due to inadequate capacity of the sewer lines and/or at the wastewater treatment plant, etc. SSOs pose a significant threat to public health and the environment, and remain a leading cause of water quality impairment. SSOs contain raw sewage and have high concentrations of bacteria from fecal contamination, as well as disease-causing pathogens and viruses. SSOs often occur in parks, backyards, city streets, playgrounds, and other areas that are frequented by the public, including children and pets. SSOs are occurring across the country, but are not consistently reported.
     
  3. Combined Sewer Overflow (CSOs) Program -- Pipes designed to convey both storm water runoff and sewage, are called combined sewers. Combined Sewer Overflow Systems were constructed prior to the development of sewage treatment plants and were intended to discharge sewage and storm water runoff directly to receiving waters. CSOs contain raw sewage and pose a significant public health concern. During rainfall, the capacity of combined sewers system is exceeded and a mixture of storm water, household sewage and industrial wastewater overflows untreated through the old sewer outfalls.
     
  4. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) Program -- CAFOs are point sources subject to the NPDES program. A CAFO is a livestock facility, or lot, that confines a prescribed number of animals for at least 45 days out of a calendar year, and does not sustain crops on any portion of the facility or lot in the normal growing season.
     
     

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• Pretreatment Program -- The National Pretreatment Program is a cooperative effort of federal, state, and local regulatory environmental agencies established to protect water quality. The objectives of the program are to 1) protect Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) from the introduction of pollutants that may interfere with plant operation or that may pass through untreated and 2) to improve opportunities for the POTW to reuse wastewater and sludges that are generated. Approximately 1500 POTWs have approved pretreatment programs. By reducing the level of pollutants discharged by industry into municipal sewage systems, the Pretreatment Program protects America's multi-billion dollar public investment in treatment infrastructure. Eighty-five categories of industrial users are subject to numerous self-implementing regulations.
  
  
• Biosolid/Sludge Program -- Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge (the name for the solid, semisolid or liquid untreated residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility). When treated and processed, biosolids can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. The CWA required EPA to promulgate regulations governing the use and disposal of sewage sludge. The Part 503 regulation is largely self-implementing and covers the use and disposal of sewage sludge by land application, surface disposal, incineration, and disposal in a municipal solid waste landfill. The standards for each end use and disposal method consist of general requirements, numeric pollutant limits, operational standards, and management practices, as well as monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.

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• Section 404/Wetlands Dredged and Fill Material Program-- The Section 404 program seeks to ensure that dredged or fill material is not discharged into wetlands and other waters of the U.S., except as authorized by a permit. Permits authorization is required from the Army Corps of Engineers for the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands or other waters. Wetlands provide critical habitat for wildlife, including many endangered species. They are also important for flood and storm damage control, shoreline erosion protection, groundwater recharge, and water quality improvement. They provide billions of dollars to the nation's economy each year from flood protection and water purification, fisheries, hunting of waterfowl and other recreational opportunities. Based on an agreement with the Corps of Engineers, EPA enforcement activity has generally focused on actions against unpermitted discharges.

• Section 311/Oil and Hazardous Substances Spills Program -- Section 311 of the CWA addresses pollution from oil and hazardous substance releases, providing EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard with the authority to establish a program for preventing, preparing for, and responding to oil spills or hazardous substances that reach or may reach surface waters. The program is designed to prepare for and respond to any oil spill affecting the inland waters of the U.S.

Section 311 also provides civil penalties for discharges of oil or hazardous substances into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. Civil penalties for spills or spill prevention/response violations may be assessed at $27,500 per day per violation or $1,100 per barrel of oil or unit of hazardous substance unlawfully discharged.

EPA shares jurisdiction over oil and hazardous substances with the U.S.Coast Guard (USCG). Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between the two Agencies establish guidelines for each Agency's activities. Generally, the MOU allocates enforcement authority for inland spill events to EPA and for coastal events to the USCG, and the Agencies may coordinate specific deviations from the general structure. The USCG is responsible for the Oil Spill Trust Liability Fund and EPA submits requests for reimbursement to the Coast Guard. For spill prevention or response, an Executive Order establishes that EPA has responsibility for non-transportation-related onshore facilities, and other agencies have responsibility for other types of facilities.

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