Water
EPA enforces federal clean water and safe drinking water laws, provides support for municipal wastewater treatment plants, and takes part in pollution prevention efforts aimed at protecting watersheds and sources of drinking water.
Major Environmental Laws
General Information
Topics:
- Animal Feeding Operations
- Biosolids
- Drinking Water
- Ground Water
- Hydraulic Fracturing
- Impaired Waters
- Mercury
- Mountaintop Mining
- Oceans and Coastal Waters
- Surface Water: Lakes, Rivers, and Streams
- Stormwater
- Wastewater
- Watersheds
- Wetlands
Animal Feeding Operations
See: Cross-Cutting Issues: Animal Feeding Operations
Biosolids
Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge. Only biosolids that meet the most stringent standards spelled out in federal and state rules can be approved for use as a fertilizer.
Read more at Biosolids. Includes guidance, publications, and answers to frequent questions.
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Compliance
Biosolids Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
Drinking Water
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans' drinking water. Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.
Read more at Regulatory Information: The Safe Drinking Water Act
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Laws and Regulations
- Current Drinking Water Regulations: Provides information on regulations on contaminants EPA regulates in drinking water, such as arsenic, lead, and microbials.
- Drinking Water Regulations under Development: Focuses on the current regulatory status of certain contaminants and public water system operations.
- Other Actions: Describes other activities EPA has taken in response to the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
- Regulation Development: Describes how EPA decides which contaminants to regulate, how drinking water standards are set, and when to revise existing regulations.
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Compliance
- Compliance Guidance under the Safe Drinking Water Act
- Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance Assistance: Compliance tools.
- Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
- Enforcement
- Policy and Guidance
See also:
Ground Water
Many communities obtain their drinking water from aquifers. Unfortunately, the ground water can become contaminated by human activity. These chemicals can enter the soil and rock, polluting the aquifer and eventually the well.
Read more at Ground Water
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Laws and Regulations
- Ground Water Rule: Provides for increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources.
- Underground Injection Control Program: Responsible for regulating the construction, operation, permitting and closure of injection wells that place fluids underground for storage or disposal.
- Source Water Protection: The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act provide a new approach for EPA and states. In addition to relying on standards and regulations that address water safety at the tap, measures are in place to ensure the quality of drinking water by protecting it from the source to the tap.
Hydraulic Fracturing
Impaired Waters
Under Section 303 D of the Clean Water Act, states, territories and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters that are too polluted or otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states, territories, or authorized tribes.
- Laws and Regulations
- Policy and Guidance
Mercury
See Cross-Cutting Issues: Mercury.
Mountaintop Mining
Mining operations are regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA), including discharges of pollutants to streams from valley fills (CWA Section 402) and the valley fill itself where the rock and dirt is placed in streams and wetlands (CWA Section 404). Coal mining operations are also regulated under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).
Read more at Mid-Atlantic Mountaintop Mining.
Oceans and Coastal Waters
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Laws and Regulations
- BEACH Act (Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000) and How EPA Protects Beaches
- Clean Boating Act: Requires nationally applicable, reasonable measures to mitigate adverse impacts of recreational vessel discharges without using a Clean Water Act permit.
- Laws, Regulations, Treaties (Ocean Laws)
- Marine and Ocean Discharges: Regulations governing marine and ocean discharges under the Clean Water Act.
- Ocean Vessels and Large Ships: Nonroad engine, equipment and vehicle standards.
- Vessel Discharges
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Compliance
- Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
Surface Water: Lakes, Rivers, and Streams
- Surface Water Standards and Guidance: including water quality standards, water quality criteria under CWA Section 304(a)(1), and cooling water intake structures under CWA Section 316(b).
Stormwater
EPA controls storm water and sewer overflow discharges through its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. NPDES provides guidance to municipalities and state and federal permitting authorities on how to meet stormwater pollution control goals as flexibly and cost-effectively as possible.
- Laws and Regulations
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Compliance
- Industrial Stormwater Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
- Municipal Stormwater: Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
- National Menu of Stormwater Best Management Practices
Wastewater
EPA regulates the discharge and treatment of wastewater under the Clean Water Act. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) issues permits to all wastewater dischargers and treatment facilities. These permits establish specific discharge limits, monitoring and reporting requirements and may also require these facilities to undertake special measures to protect the environment from harmful pollutants.
See also Animal Feeding Operations.
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Laws and Regulations
- NPDES Regulations
- NPDES Topics: Find regulatory information by program area, such as animal feeding operations, combined sewer overflows, pesticides and more.
- Clean Water Act Section 319: The 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA) established the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program.
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Compliance
- NPDES Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
- NPDES Training Courses and Workshops: For permit writers, dischargers and others.
- Pretreatment of Wastewater (Industrial Users) Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
- View NPDES Individual and General Permits
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Enforcement
- Facilities and Enforcement Activities Related to the Clean Water Act NPDES Program: Find information such as the number of regulated facilities or the number of violations in a state.
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Policy and Guidance
- NPDES Publications: Find policy and guidance documents for NPDES program areas.
Watersheds
- Laws and Regulations
Wetlands
- Laws and Regulations
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Compliance
- Wetlands (Section 404) Compliance Monitoring: Information about inspections, evaluations and investigations.
Frequent Questions
Related Sectors
International/Tribal