Pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes and executes federal standards for wastewater management, which is the process of directing wastewater through a treatment system and discharging it into either surface waters such as streams, lakes, and oceans or to publicly owned treatment works. These standards restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters and watersheds by regulating the discharge of pollutants and toxics into U.S. waters.

As an owner and operator of many wastewater treatment (WWT) systems, the U.S. Army complies with and implements all applicable CWA provisions and regulations while overseeing the treatment and discharge of wastewater. The following activities are examples of actions the Army carries out as components of wastewater management:

• Operating and maintaining system equipment to assure discharges meet the facility's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements and limitations;
• Managing a pretreatment program;
• Conducting sampling and analysis of wastewater;
• Managing biosolids from the treatment processes by land filling, land application, surface disposal, incineration, or composting; and
• Maintaining records and submitting discharge-monitoring reports.

Although the Army is in the process of privatizing many drinking water systems, some systems will remain under Army control and CWA requirements will still apply.

USAEC's role in promoting environmental compliance for the Army in the area of wastewater management includes:

• Reviewing all CWA rulemakings;
• Preparing Army impact analyses and comments on potential rulemakings;
• Preparing guidance documents, including pollution prevention options;
• Developing tools to assist installations in complying with CWA requirements, such as a protocol to evaluate the ability of Army WWT systems' infrastructure to ensure compliance with current and future environmental regulatory requirements;
• Working with the Office of the Director of Environmental Programs (ODEP) and the Installation Management Command (IMCOM) to develop compliance strategies;
• Tracking the Army's progress on meeting DoD and Army environmental goals;
• Supporting installations when requested;
• Maintaining contact with the EPA to stay abreast of current and future initiatives;
• Representing the Army on DoD committees, along with ODEP; and
• Hosting discussion groups within the Army to exchange lessons learned and share information.

• Oil/Water Separation Technology  Registered AKO users may also visit the USAEC Wastewater section of its Water Programs area to obtain current information [in Announcements, Knowledge Center and Wastewater Links] related to OWS activities, Join DoD Guidance and other documents)
• EPA's Office of Wastewater Management
• EPA 40 CFR Subchapter D - Water Programs
  • Parts 100-135
  • Parts 136-149
• EPA 40 CFR Subchapter N - Effluent Guidelines and Standards
  • Parts 400-424
  • Parts 425-471
• EPA 40 CFR Subchapter O - Sewage Sludge (Parts 501-503)
• Wastewater management guidance can be found in Chapter 2 of Department of the Army Pamphlet 200-1, Environmental Protection and Enhancement
• Water resources management regulations are addressed in Chapter 2 of Army Regulation 200-1, Environmental Protection and Enhancement