Civil Enforcement

Subchapter III - Standards and Enforcement

• Section 301 - Effluent limitations: This section prohibits the discharge of a pollutant from a point source to waters of the U.S. without a permit. A point source is any discrete conveyance (e.g., pipe, ditch, spillway, etc.). Section 301 also describes the authority that the EPA Administrator has to add or remove substances from the list of priority pollutants. It outlines a set of procedures that must be followed whenever a substance is moved on or off the list. Anyone wishing to discharge pollutants through a ‘point source' must obtain a permit from EPA or an authorized state agency.
• Section 307 - Toxic and pretreatment effluent standards: This section describes the factors that EPA must consider when setting effluent standards for toxic pollutants. It requires public consideration of those standards before they are finalized and orders all standards reviewed every three years. There are two types of standards for priority pollutants. One group applies to industries that discharge their effluent directly to receiving waters. The other group applies to industries that must pretreat their effluent before releasing them to public sewers. Furthermore, this section provides the authority for the Agency's overall pretreatment program, which regulates discharges from industrial users into Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs).
• Section 308 - Records and reports; inspections: This section gives EPA the authority to require all dischargers to maintain adequate monitoring and record-keeping reports, install equipment, sample, and provide other information at the facilities. EPA and its authorized representatives can also inspect facilities or record and monitoring stations.
• Section 309 - Enforcement. This section gives EPA the authority to seek administrative, civil, or criminal penalties and injunctive relief against violators. The Agency may issue an administrative order or initiate a civil judicial action to require a discharger to achieve compliance and seek a civil penalty; or seek criminal penalties for negligent violations, knowing violations, or false statements made in the documents required to be submitted under the Act.
• Section 311 - Oil and hazardous substance liability: This section prohibits the discharge of oil or hazardous substances to navigable waters, or adjoining shorelines. This section also provides for the establishment of the National Contingency Plan for removing oil and hazardous substances. This section authorizes the federal and state governments to recover the cost of pollution control and of damages caused by violations, depositing them in the Plan's account.

This section also gives EPA the authority to seek penalties for violations of Section 311. This section also establishes the Agency's authority to promulgate regulations for the Spill Prevention Countermeasures and Control (SPCC) program.

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Subchapter IV - Permits and Licenses

• Section 402 - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): This section establishes the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program under which the Administrator (or an authorized state) may issue a permit to a point source for the discharge of any pollutant, or combination of pollutants.
• Section 404 - Permits for dredged or fill material: This section authorizes a special permit program to control dredge and fill operations. The Secretary of Army and the EPA Administrator are jointly responsible for setting the guidelines by which permits are to be judged. EPA controls what areas can be listed as suitable disposal sites and can prohibit certain materials from being discharged at an approved site on certain grounds. In addition, Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, requires a permit from the Army's Corps of Engineers for obstructions in navigable waters.
• Section 405 - Disposal or use of sewage sludge: This section authorizes the issuance of permits for the disposal of sewage sludge generated at a pubicly owned treatment works (including the removal of in-place sewage sludge from one location and its deposit at another location).

Subchapter V - General Provisions

• Section 504- Emergency powers: This section allows the Administrator to go into federal court to restrain any discharge that poses an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health or the livelihood of persons, such as shellfish harvesters.
• Section 505 - Citizen suits: This section generally allows for citizens to initiate a civil suit against any person, including the United States and other government agencies for violating the Clean Water Act.

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