Point source
A point source is a single identifiable ''localised'' source of something. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other source geometries. Sources are called point sources because in mathematical modeling, these sources can ...
water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
comes from discrete conveyances and alters the chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of water. In the United States, it is largely regulated by 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 responsibiliti ...
(CWA). Among other things, the Act requires dischargers to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to legally discharge pollutants into a water body. However, point source pollution remains an issue in some water bodies, due to some limitations of the Act. Consequently, other regulatory approaches have emerged, such as water quality trading and voluntary community-level efforts.
Introduction
Definition
Water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
is the contamination of natural water bodies by chemical, physical, radioactive or pathogenic microbial substances. Point sources of water pollution are described by the CWA as "any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance from which pollutants are or may be discharged." These include pipes or man-made ditches
from stationary locations such as
sewage treatment
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
plants, factories,
industrial wastewater treatment facilities,
septic systems
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater ( sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treat ...
,
ships
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
, and other sources that are clearly discharging pollutants into water sources.
Relevant science
The input of pollutants into a water body may impact the water's ability to deliver ecological, recreational, educational, and economic services. While the impacts of water pollution vary considerably based on a variety of site-specific factors, they may be either direct or indirect. Pollutants that are directly
toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
pose a threat to organisms that may come into contact with contaminated water. These include persistent organic pollutants used as
pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
s and toxic byproducts of industrial activity (such as
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
). Other pollutants may indirectly impact ecosystem services by causing a change in water conditions that allows for a harmful activity to take place. This includes sediment (loose
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
) inputs that decrease the amount of light that can penetrate through the water, reducing plant growth and diminishing oxygen availability for other aquatic organisms.
There are a variety of
water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
parameters that may be affected by point source water pollution. They include:
dissolved oxygen
Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...
and
biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period. T ...
(BOD), temperature,
pH,
turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
,
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
,
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
s,
total suspended solids
Total suspended solids (TSS) is the dry-weight of suspended particles, that are not dissolved, in a sample of water that can be trapped by a filter that is analyzed using a filtration apparatus known as sintered glass crucible. TSS is a water qu ...
,
conductivity
Conductivity may refer to:
*Electrical conductivity, a measure of a material's ability to conduct an electric current
**Conductivity (electrolytic), the electrical conductivity of an electrolyte in solution
** Ionic conductivity (solid state), ele ...
,
alkalinity
Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale.
Alkalinity is the strength of ...
, and
fecal coliform
A fecal coliform (British: faecal coliform) is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth ...
. BOD is perhaps the most widely used metric to assess water quality.
Water quality is also closely linked with water quantity issues. Water shortages from natural and anthropogenic activity reduce the dilutive properties of water and may concentrate water pollution. Conversely, during flooding events, water pollution may spread to previously uncontaminated waters through surface overflow or the failure of man-made barriers.
Nature of the problem/context
Water pollution incidents and public response
Before the CWA was enacted, companies indiscriminately discharged their effluents into water bodies. One such water body was the
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie.
As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...
located in north-east
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The river was thrust into the national limelight in 1969 when it caught fire, although the river had been plagued by fires since 1936. Pollution of the river had become prevalent in the early 1800s as contaminants from municipal and industrial discharges, bank
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
, commercial/residential
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
* Photograph ...
, atmospheric deposition,
hazardous waste
Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...
disposal sites,
urban storm water runoff,
combined sewer overflow
A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dil ...
s (CSOs) and wastewater treatment plant bypasses were discharged into the river. ''Time'' magazine described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays." The 1969 river fire, and the
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
The Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters by that time, and now ranks third after ...
in California—the largest such spill in U.S. history at that time—drew significant public attention to the state of the nation's waterways. Although Congress had been holding hearings and considering additional pollution control legislation in the late 1960s, these widely publicized incidents increased the pressure on Congress to act, which they eventually did with the 1972 Clean Water Act, the establishment of the
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
(EPA) and later the
Oil Pollution Act of 1990
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) (101 H.R.1465, P.L. 101-380) was passed by the 101st United States Congress and signed by President George H. W. Bush. It works to avoid oil spills from vessels and facilities by enforcing removal of spilled ...
.
Regulatory framework
History of regulation
The
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 is the oldest federal environmental law in the United States. The Act makes it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse matter of any kind into the navigable waters, or tributaries thereof, of the United ...
contained provisions that made discharging refuse matter into navigable waters of the United States illegal without a permit issued by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
. The focus of the law was controlling obstructions to navigation, such as dumping refuse into rivers, and discharging oil from ships and boats. Most legal analysts have concluded that the 1899 law did not address environmental impacts from pollution, such as sewage or industrial discharges. However, there were several pollution enforcement cases in the 1960s and 1970s where the law was cited for broader pollution control objectives, prior to passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act.
By the mid-20th century, water pollution laws in the United States began to include health- and use-based standards to protect environmental and economic interests. In 1948
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). The law authorized the
Surgeon General and the
Public Health Service
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
to develop programs to combat pollution that was harming surface and underground water sources, but did not create any new regulatory or enforcement authority for pollution control. The FWPCA also authorized cooperation between federal and state agencies to construct municipal sewage treatment plants.
The ''Water Quality Act of 1965'' required states to issue water quality standards for interstate waters, and authorized the newly created Federal Water Pollution Control Administration to set standards where states failed to do so. No mechanism for federal enforcement was established.
The 1966 ''Clean Water Restoration Act'' authorized a study to determine the effects of pollution on wildlife, recreation, and water supplies. The Act also set forth guidelines for abatement of water that may flow into international territory and prohibited the dumping of oil into navigable waters of the United States.
The ''Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970'' required the development of certain water quality standards and expanded federal authority in upholding the standards. The most substantial amendments to the FWPCA occurred in 1972 and became known as the ''Clean Water Act.''
Clean Water Act
Point source water pollution is largely regulated through 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 responsibiliti ...
, which gives the EPA the authority to set limits on the acceptable amount of pollutants that can be discharged into waters of the United States. The 1972 law also created federal authority for a permit system—NPDES—to enforce the pollution standards. The Act broadly defines a pollutant as any type of industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water, such as: dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste.
Point source water pollution
A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries (such as nonpoint source or area source) ...
is discharged into waters through both direct and indirect methods.
Direct dischargers
![ApolloBeach BigBendPowerPlant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/ApolloBeach_BigBendPowerPlant.jpg)
Direct discharges are pollutants that are discharged directly to a surface water body.
To legally discharge pollutants directly into a waterbody, a facility—municipal, industrial, commercial or government-owned—must obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from EPA or a state agency.
=NPDES Permit Program
=
The
NPDES permit program sets limits on the amount of pollutants that can be discharged into a waterbody. Technology based effluent limits establish a minimum level of pollution controls for all point source discharges. If technology based limits are not sufficient to protect a particular water body, then water quality based effluent limits are developed for facilities discharging to that water body.
;Permits
Individual states are authorized by the EPA to issue permits when they have demonstrated that their program is at least as stringent as the EPA's program.
States perform the day-to-day issuance of permits and oversight of the program while the EPA provides review and guidance to the states.
All NPDES permits must contain a "specific, numeric, measurable set of limits on the amount of various pollutants that can appear in the wastewater discharged by the facility into the nation's waters" as well as guidelines on how often monitoring should be performed and what "sampling and analytic techniques should be used."
;Types of permits
* Individual – A unique permit is issued for each discharger.
* General – A single permit that covers a large number of similar dischargers in a specific geographic area. Examples include the EPA
Vessels General Permit and
industrial stormwater
Industrial stormwater is runoff from precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, or hail) that lands on industrial sites (e.g. manufacturing facilities, mines, airports). This runoff is often polluted by materials that are handled or stored o ...
general permits.
;Permitting process
The authorized permit issuing body receives and reviews the permit application. The technology-based and water quality-based effluent limits are developed and then compared to determine which is the more stringent, which is then used as the effluent limit for the permit. Monitoring requirements, special conditions, and standard conditions for each pollutant are developed and the permit is then issued and its requirements are implemented.
* Technology-based requirements: A minimum level of treatment based on available treatment technologies is required for discharged pollutants, however, a discharger may use any available treatment technologies to meet the limits. The effluent limits are derived from different standards for different discharges:
** Municipal discharges (POTW): National
secondary treatment
Secondary treatment is the removal of biodegradable organic matter (in solution or suspension) from sewage or similar kinds of wastewater. The aim is to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality in a sewage treatment plant suitable for the inte ...
standards define limits of biological treatment standards based on biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and pH balance.
** Industrial and other non-municipal discharges: Limits for many industrial dischargers are based on national standards for issued for specific categories, such as chemical plants, paper mills, and electric power plants (''see''
Effluent guidelines Effluent Guidelines (also referred to as Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs)) are U.S. national standards for wastewater discharges to surface waters and publicly owned treatment works (POTW) (also called municipal sewage treatment plants). The U ...
). EPA issues these limitations based on the performance of pollution control and prevention technologies.
For existing dischargers, this level of treatment is equivalent to "
Best Available Technology Economically Achievable" (BAT) and for new discharges, the treatment level is "
New Source Performance Standards" (NSPS). If there is no applicable national standard (effluent guideline regulation) for a particular facility, the NPDES permit agency develops requirements on a case-by-case basis.
* Water quality-based requirements: Should technology-based standards not be stringent enough, Water Quality Based Effluent Limits (WQBEL) are developed to ensure that water quality standards are attained. WQBELs are based on ambient water quality standards.
;Permit components
![NPDES Permit Components EPA chart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/NPDES_Permit_Components_EPA_chart.png)
All NPDES permits must contain the following five components:
* Cover page – indicates authorization for discharging and its locations
* Effluent limits – limits used to control discharges through technology-based or water quality-based standards
* Monitoring and reporting requirements – used to determine permit compliance
* Special conditions – can be used to supplement effluent limits
* Standard conditions – pre-established conditions that apply to all NPDES permits
;Permit violation
A permitee can be in violation of their permit when they discharge pollutants at a level higher than what is specified on their permit or discharge without a permit. They can also be in violation if they fail to comply with the monitoring and enforcement portion of the permit.
;Enforcement
Since the NPDES permit program is a self-monitoring system where permitees are required to carry out detailed monitoring requirements, the EPA promotes "compliance assistance" as an enforcement technique, which "helps permittees come into, and remain, in compliance with their permit, rather than going immediately to enforcement actions."
The EPA and state NPDES agencies have can perform periodic inspections and the EPA gives individual states the authority to enforce NPDES permits although the EPA has the right to carry out enforcement should a state not do so. Enforcement actions for violations include: injunctions, fines for typical violations, imprisonment for criminal violations, or supplemental environmental projects (SEP). Citizens may also bring suits against violators but they must first provide the EPA and state NPDES permit agency with the opportunity to take action.
=Stormwater management permits
=
![Silt fence EPA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Silt_fence_EPA.jpg)
To address the nationwide problem of
stormwater
Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...
pollution, Congress broadened the CWA definition of "point source" in 1987 to include industrial stormwater discharges and municipal separate
storm sewer systems ("MS4"). These facilities are required to obtain NPDES permits. This 1987 expansion was promulgated in two phases. The Phase I regulation, promulgated in 1990, required that all
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of 100,000 persons or more,
industrial dischargers, and
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
sites of 5 acres (20,000 m
2) or more have NPDES permits for their stormwater discharges. Phase I permits were issued in much of the U.S. in 1991. The Phase II rule required that all municipalities, construction sites of 1 acre (4,000 m
2) or more, and other large property owners (such as
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
s) have NPDES permits for their stormwater discharges. EPA published the Phase II regulation in 1999.
![National Map of Regulated MS4s 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/National_Map_of_Regulated_MS4s_2009.png)
About 855 Phase I MS4s and 6,695 Phase II MS4s are regulated by the permit system, as of 2018. The MS4s serve over 80% of the US population and provide drainage for 4% of the land area.
Most construction sites are covered by general permits. Other industrial sites that only discharge stormwater are typically covered by general permits.
Industrial stormwater
Industrial stormwater is runoff from precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, or hail) that lands on industrial sites (e.g. manufacturing facilities, mines, airports). This runoff is often polluted by materials that are handled or stored o ...
dischargers that are otherwise required to have individual permits (due to their
process wastewater and/or
cooling water
Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant
Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...
discharges), typically have the stormwater management requirements added to their individual permits.
In addition to implementing the NPDES requirements, many states and local governments have enacted their own stormwater management laws and ordinances, and some have published stormwater treatment design manuals. Some of these state and local requirements have expanded coverage beyond the federal requirements. For example, the State of
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
requires erosion and sediment controls on construction sites of 5,000 sq ft (460 m
2) or more. It is not uncommon for state agencies to revise their requirements and impose them upon counties and cities; daily fines ranging as high as $25,000 can be imposed for failure to modify their local stormwater permitting for construction sites, for instance.
Indirect dischargers
An indirect discharger is one that sends its wastewater into a city sewer system, which carries it to the municipal sewage treatment plant or
publicly owned treatment works
A publicly owned treatment works (POTW) is a term used in the United States for a sewage treatment plant owned, and usually operated, by a government agency. In the U.S., POTWs are typically owned by local government agencies, and are usually desig ...
(POTW).
At the POTW, harmful pollutants in
domestic sewage, called
conventional pollutant A conventional pollutant is a term used in the USA to describe a water pollutant that is amenable to treatment by a municipal sewage treatment plant. A basic list of conventional pollutants is defined in the U.S. Clean Water Act. The list has been ...
s, are removed from the sewage and then the treated effluent is discharged into a surface water body. The removed solids constitute
sewage sludge
Sewage sludge is the residual, semi-solid material that is produced as a by-product during sewage treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater. The term " septage" also refers to sludge from simple wastewater treatment but is connected to s ...
, which typically receive further treatment prior to final disposal on land. (''See''
Sewage sludge treatment
Sewage sludge treatment describes the processes used to manage and dispose of sewage sludge produced during sewage treatment. Sludge treatment is focused on reducing sludge weight and volume to reduce transportation and disposal costs, and on red ...
.) POTWs are not designed to treat toxic or nonconventional pollutants in industrial wastewater, although they may incidentally remove some pollutants.
=National Pretreatment Program
=
Indirect dischargers are covered by the National Pretreatment Program, which enforces three types of discharge standards:
* prohibited discharge standards – protects against pollutants passing through the POTW untreated, and preventing interference with POTW treatment processes
* categorical standards – national, technology-based standards for industrial categories that limit the discharge of pollutants (''see''
Effluent guidelines Effluent Guidelines (also referred to as Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELGs)) are U.S. national standards for wastewater discharges to surface waters and publicly owned treatment works (POTW) (also called municipal sewage treatment plants). The U ...
)
* local limits – address the specific needs of a POTW and its receiving waters.
The goal of the pretreatment program is to protect municipal wastewater treatment plants from damage that may occur when hazardous, toxic, or other wastes are discharged into a sewer system, and to protect the quality of sludge generated by these plants. Discharges to a POTW are regulated either by the POTW itself, the state/tribe, or EPA.
Related programs
EPA water quality trading policy
The Clean Water Act has made great strides in reducing point source water pollution, but this effect is overshadowed by the fact that
nonpoint source pollution
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination (or pollution) of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered ...
, which is not subject to regulation under the Act, has correspondingly increased. One of the solutions to address this imbalance is point/nonpoint source trading of pollutants. EPA issued its Water Quality Trading Policy in 2003. At that time, many waters in the United States did not support their designated uses. Specifically, 40 percent of rivers, 45 percent of streams, and 50 percent of lakes that had been surveyed did not meet standards. Consequently, when EPA issued its trading policy it acknowledged that "the progress made toward restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters under the 1972 Clean Water Act and its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits has been incomplete."
The purpose of the policy is to "encourage voluntary trading programs that facilitate the implementation of TMDLs, reduce the costs of compliance with CWA regulations, establish incentives for voluntary reductions, and promote watershed-based initiatives (3).
" The policy supports the trading of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and sediment load reductions, but in order for it to be extended to other contaminants, more scrutiny is required.
All water quality trading programs are subject to the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
The Trading Policy outlines basic ground rules for trading by specifying viable pollutants, how to set baselines, and detailing the components of credible trading programs. It also stipulates that trades must occur within the same watershed.
Water quality trading programs are subject to the stipulations of the Clean Water Act.
Other laws that may affect some NPDES permits
*
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...
: Federal agencies must consult with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
to ensure that discharges from a project (e.g., a new or expanded industrial facility) will not endanger a threatened species or their habitat.
*
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
(NEPA): Only discharges that are subject to New Source Performance Standards (or new sources otherwise defined in the NPDES regulations) are subject to NEPA review prior to being issued a permit.
*
National Historic Preservation Act
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; Public Law 89-665; 54 U.S.C. 300101 ''et seq.'') is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America. The act created the National Register of Historic ...
: Prior to issuing a permit, EPA Regional Administrators must adopt measures that mitigate adverse effects on properties in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
*
Coastal Zone Management Act
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA; , , Chapter 33) is an Act of Congress passed in 1972 to encourage coastal states to develop and implement coastal zone management plans (CZMPs). This act was established as a United States National p ...
: Permits will not be issued unless the permitees certifies that proposed activities, which would affect land or water use in coastal zones, comply with the Coastal Zone Management Act.
*
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...
: Prohibits issuance of permit for water resources projects that will have a direct, adverse effect on the values for which a national wild and scenic river was established.
*
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
: Jurisdiction over wildlife resources must be established prior to permit issuance so that resources can be conserved.
* ''Magnuson-Stevens Act:'' The "Essential Fish Habitat Provisions" in the law require EPA to consult with the
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stew ...
for any EPA-issued permits which may adversely affect essential fish habitat.
Problems/issues/concerns
Funding
Cost issues for monitoring
Monitoring of water bodies is the responsibility of authorized states, not the EPA. In 1997, EPA estimated that private and public point source control costs were $14 billion and $34 billion, respectively. The EPA has acknowledged that states have not adequately funded their monitoring programs, which has led to some uncertainty regarding the quality of most surface waters.
Enforcement
Self-monitoring and self-reporting
In many cases, the enforcement mechanisms of the Clean Water Act have created tension between regulators, regulated parties, and local citizens. Most NPDES permits require dischargers to monitor and report the contents of their discharges to the appropriate authorities. This requirement is potentially self-incriminating, forcing industries to provide information that may subject them to penalties and legal constraints. As a result, some dischargers go to great lengths to avoid penalties, including falsifying discharge monitoring reports and tampering with monitoring equipment. In ''United States v. Hopkins'', the court ruled on a case where the vice president for manufacturing at Spirol International Corporation was charged with three criminal violations for falsifying water samples sent to state regulatory agencies.
Spirol diluted his samples, which contained high levels of
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
, with tap water on numerous occasions and frequently ordered his subordinates to reduce the zinc concentration in the water by running it through a coffee filter.
Tensions between state and federal government
Like other environmental laws, the Clean Water Act delegates many enforcement responsibilities to state agencies. While the burden of enforcement may be transferred to the states, federal agencies reserve the right to approve or reject state plans for dealing with water pollution. This relationship reduces the regulatory burden on federal agencies, but can lead to confusion and tension between the two regulators.
Many of these tensions arise with regards to the
commerce clause
The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...
of the constitution. Until recently, the commerce clause has given the federal government considerable authority in regulating states' decisions about water use. In 2000, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled on ''
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. US Army Corps of Engineers.'' This ruling struck down the Corps' ability to prevent the construction of a disposal site for non-hazardous waste in Illinois based on power derived from the commerce clause.
The Corps cited the
Migratory Bird Rule when they initially denied the section 404 permit under the Clean Water Act. The migratory bird rule was meant to protect habitats used by migratory birds, which included the abandoned mining site that SWANCC had proposed to construct the waste disposal site.
Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote: "Congress passes the CWA for the state purpose of 'restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.' In doing so,, Congress chose to recognize, preserve, and protect the primary responsibilities and rights of States to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution, to plan the development and use... of land and water resources...".
In reversing the Corps' decision to issue a permit, the court reversed a trend and placed a check on federal power over state land use and water rights. Tensions between federal and state agencies concerning interstate commerce and point source water pollution continue, and are a reality of the Clean Water Act.
Ambiguity of the CWA
''Coeur Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council''
In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled on ''
Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
''Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council'', 557 U.S. 261 (2009), is a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in favor of Coeur Alaska's permit to dump mine waste in a lake. The case addressed tailings from the Ke ...
.''
The case concerned the re-opening of a gold mine outside
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
that had been out of operation since 1928. Coeur Alaska planned to utilize
froth flotation
Froth flotation is a process for selectively separating hydrophobic materials from hydrophilic. This is used in mineral processing, paper recycling and waste-water treatment industries. Historically this was first used in the mining industry, wher ...
in order to extract gold, creating 4.5 million tons of
tailings
In mining, tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different to overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlie ...
over the course of its lifetime. The mining company opted to dispose of the tailings in nearby Lower Slate Lake, requiring a permit to comply with the Clean Water Act. The tailings would fundamentally change the physical and chemical characteristics of the lake, raising the lake bed by 50 feet and expanding the area from 23 to 60 acres. Coeur Alaska proposed to temporarily re-route nearby streams around Lower Slate Lake until they could purify the water and re-introduce the natural flow patterns.
Tailings from froth flotation contain high concentrations of heavy metals, including aluminum, which have toxic effects of aquatic organisms. As a result, the disposal of these tailings into Lower Slate Lake is eligible for a section 402 permit for discharge of a pollutant from the EPA (NPDES permit). The nature of the tailings also justifies their categorization as a fill material, or a "material
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
has the effect of… changing the bottom elevation" of a water body.
Consequently, Coeur Alaska was also eligible for a "Dredge and Fill" permit from the Army Corps of Engineers under CWA section 404. The company applied for this latter permit and received authorization from the Corps to dump the tailings into Lower Slate Lake. The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council contended that disposal of the tailings is explicitly banned by section 306(e) of the Clean Water Act, and would therefore make Coeur Alaska ineligible for a NPDES permit.
The Court ruled in favor of Coeur Alaska, explaining that if the Army Corps of Engineers has authority to issue a permit under section 404, the EPA does not have authority to issue a section 402 permit. They asserted that the law is ambiguous as to whether section 306 applies to fill materials and found no erroneous or unreasonable behavior by the Corps. As a result, although the tailings would explicitly violate the Clean Water Act under section 402, the Corps may issue a dredge and fill permit.
This decision has not resonated well with environmental groups, who are worried that the decision may allow companies to discharge massive amounts of hazardous pollutants by avoiding the NPDES permitting procedure.
Of particular concern is the mountaintop mining industry, which has the capacity to fundamentally alter aquatic ecosystems by filling in water bodies with sediment and mining debris. This tension between various sections within the Clean Water Act is sure to receive considerable attention in future years.
Other emerging regulatory approaches
Water quality trading
Definition
Water quality trading (WQT) is a market-based approach, implemented on a watershed-scale, used to improve or maintain
water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
. It involves the voluntary exchange of pollution reduction credits from sources with low costs of pollution control to those with high costs of pollution control. WQT programs are still subject to the requirements of the Clean Water Act, but they can be used to reduce the overall cost of compliance. Usually, permitted point sources of water pollution, such as wastewater treatment plants, have high discharge treatment costs, whereas nonpoint sources of water pollution, such as agriculture, have low costs of pollution reduction. Therefore, it is generally assumed that most trades would take place between point sources and nonpoint sources.
However, point source-point source trades could also occur as well as pretreatment trades and intra-plant trades.
Background
Most of the water quality trading markets currently in operation are focused on the trading of nutrients such as
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
and
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
. However, increasing interest has been shown in trading programs for sediment runoff,
biological oxygen demand, and temperature.
WQT programs can be used to preserve good water quality in unimpaired waters by counterbalancing new or increased pollutant discharges. In impaired waters, a WQT program can be used to improve water quality by reducing pollutant discharges in order to meet a specified water quality standard or
total maximum daily load
A total maximum daily load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water qualit ...
(TMDL).
TMDLs apply to both point sources and nonpoint sources and they represent the primary impetus for WQT programs. Point sources of pollutants that require NPDES permits often have strict discharge limits based on a TMDL. WQT can allow these sources to obtain lower costs of compliance, while still achieving the overall desired pollution reduction. Several factors influence whether or not a TMDL-based water quality trading program will be successful. First, the market must be appropriately structured within the regulatory framework of the Clean Water Act. Second, the pollutant must be well-suited for trading. Third, implementation of a WQT market requires public input and voluntary participation. Finally, there must be adequate differences in pollution control costs and available opportunities for reduction.
Credits and trade ratios
In a WQT market, a unit of pollutant reduction is called a credit. A point source can generate credits by reducing its discharge below its most stringent effluent limitation and a nonpoint source can generate credits "by installing
best management practices (BMPs) beyond its baseline".
Before being able to purchase credits, source must first meet its technology-based effluent limit (TBEL). The credits can then be used to meet water quality-based effluent limits (WQBEL).
In order to ensure that trades are effective and do not result in more pollution than would occur in their absence, trade ratios are used. Trade ratios can have several components including:
*Location: Source location relevant to the downstream area of concern can be an important factor.
*Delivery: The distance between sources can play a role in determining whether permit requirements are met at the
outfall
An outfall is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a river, drain or a sewer where it discharges into the sea, a lake or ocean.
In the United States, industrial facilities that discha ...
.
*Uncertainty: Nonpoint source reductions can be difficult to quantify.
*Equivalency: Sources may be discharging different forms of the same pollutant.
*Retirement: Credits may be retired to achieve further water quality improvement.
Permitted point sources can trade with other point sources or nonpoint sources. Trades can occur directly, or be brokered by third parties. However, when dealing with nonpoint source reductions, a level of uncertainty does exist. In order to address this,
monitoring
Monitoring may refer to:
Science and technology Biology and healthcare
* Monitoring (medicine), the observation of a disease, condition or one or several medical parameters over time
* Baby monitoring
* Biomonitoring, of toxic chemical compounds, ...
should be conducted. Modeling can also be used as a supplement to monitoring. Uncertainty can also be mitigated by field testing BMPs and using conservative assumptions for BMP efficacy.
Benefits
There are many economic, environmental, and social benefits that can be gained by establishing a WQT market within a watershed. Economically, since WQT is a market-based policy instrument, substantial savings can be generated while still achieving a mandated water quality goal.
According to The National Cost to Implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Draft report, flexible approaches to improving water quality, such as WQT markets, could save $900 million per year when compared with the least flexible approach (3). In 2008, WQT programs were worth $11 million, but have the potential for rapid growth.
Other economic benefits of WQT include a reduction in the overall costs of compliance, the ability for dischargers to take advantages of economies of scale and differences in treatment efficiencies, and the ability to maintain growth without further harming the environment.
The environmental benefits of WQT programs are also numerous. First, habitats and ecosystems are protected and/or improved. Second, water quality objectives are able to be achieved in a timely manner. Third, there is incentive for innovation and creation of pollution prevention technologies. Finally, nonpoint sources are included in solving water quality problems. Social benefits include dialog among watershed stakeholders and incentives for all dischargers to reduce their pollution.
Factors influencing success
The success of a WQT market is determined by several factors including the pollutant of interest, physical characteristics of the affected watershed, control costs, trading mechanisms, and stakeholder participation and willingness.
It is also important that the desired level of pollution reduction is not so great that all sources must reduce the maximum amount possible because this would eliminate surplus reductions to be used for credits.
Obstacles to implementation
The biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of WQT markets is lack of
supply and demand
In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...
. In fact, studies of current water quality trading programs indicate that the typical problems associated with inhibition of water quality trading, such as high
transaction cost
In economics and related disciplines, a transaction cost is a cost in making any economic trade when participating in a market. Oliver E. Williamson defines transaction costs as the costs of running an economic system of companies, and unlike produ ...
s, poor institutional infrastructure, and uncertain criteria, are being overcome.
The main problem is that, under existing regulatory conditions, there are simply not enough willing buyers and sellers. Currently, most nonpoint sources of water pollution are unregulated or, assuming detection occurs, have relatively small consequences for violations. Consequently, nonpoint sources do not have incentive to participate in WQT.
For WQT markets to be successful, greater demand is needed for pollution credits. For this to happen, water quality standards need to be clear and enforceable.
Contrast to emissions trading
Given the success of the
sulfur dioxide emission trading market that was established to combat acid rain, at first glance it seems that this level of success should be easily extended to water quality trading. However, the reason this has not occurred yet comes down to a fundamental difference between water pollution and air pollution, and the process of establishing their respective markets. Establishing an
emissions market, in principle, has three steps: (1) set a cap on emissions, (2) allocate portions of the cap to individual firms, and (3) allow each firm to meet its allowance through emission reduction or trade.
The difference with water pollution, however, is that the problems that cause local water quality issues differ from those that create regional air pollution problems. Discharges into water are difficult to measure and effects are dependent on a variety of other factors and vary with weather and location.
Dealing with transboundary pollution: a case study of the U.S./Mexico border region
Overview
The border region (approximately long and wide) is predominantly arid and contains seven watersheds including the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
which forms part of the border. The watersheds provide numerous benefits for the 14 cities and over nine million people in the region. However, increasing population, the arid climatic conditions of the region, the nature of economic activities along the rivers, increased trade, and uncontrolled emissions into them have placed tremendous pressure on water resources and threatened natural ecosystems. A large proportion of the population lacks access to clean drinking water and sanitation triggering public health concerns.
Policy issues
Point source water pollution is a source of concern along the US-Mexico border as pollutants from both countries are entering shared waterways due to agricultural runoff, industrial discharge, and untreated sewage. Various policy issues arise in attempting to deal with this and include:
*Some pollution originates from areas beyond the border region as pollution is carried into the region by the waterways. This makes it difficult to regulate as discharges are difficult to apportion and control.
*Pollution is caused by and affects both countries therefore requiring a joint response.
*The socio-economic differences between the two countries have implications for policy implementation and enforcement.
*Various interests are represented with strong influence from environmental and social groups. Multiple levels of government agencies are also involved.
Policy responses
There have been several attempts to address environmental concerns in the border region in the past by both governments. Significant intervention, however, resulted from the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
(NAFTA) of 1994 between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico which renewed concerns over the environmental quality of the region due to increased trade in the region. The two governments therefore entered into the ''US-Mexico Border Environment Cooperation Agreement'' which created a number of institutions and programs. The
Border Environment Cooperation Commission
The Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) headquartered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is a binational organization created in 1994 by the Federal Governments of the United States of America and Mexico under a side-agreement to th ...
(BECC) and the
North American Development Bank
The North American Development Bank (NADBank) is a binational financial institution capitalized and governed equally by the Federal Governments of the United States of America and Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexic ...
(NADB) were created to address border environmental-infrastructure issues and began operation in 2004. Distinct characteristics of these institutions and their approach are that they: are truly bi-national (have members from both countries) at all levels; emphasize a bottom-up approach with enhanced public participation; have a preference to assist disadvantaged communities; avoid regulatory or standard-driven approaches; emphasize economic and environmental sustainability. (As of 2018 the two organizations are in the process of merging into a single entity.)
The US-Mexico Border Program was also created by the agreement and placed under the management of EPA (through its Region 6 and 9 offices) to correct the oversights of previous institutions and give guidance to cross-border environmental policy. The three institutions work together to identify, develop, finance and implement projects in the communities and certify them as "environmentally sustainable" subsequently funding them through a grant-making process. Communities, public, and private entities (sponsors) are invited to submit water and wastewater infrastructure projects. These projects are required to meet certain criteria to qualify for certification and funding. Among other requirements, they have to address an eligible environmental sector; must have a U.S.-side benefit; and have adequate planning, operations and maintenance, and pretreatment provisions. One specific provision touching on point-source water pollution states that "projects where the discharge is directly or indirectly to U.S. side waters, must target achievement of U.S. norms for ambient water quality in U.S. side waters, although infrastructure development may be phased over time. Any flow reductions that result from implementation of non-discharging alternatives must not threaten U.S. or shared ecosystems". Projects receive significant input from the communities living in the region in determining their sustainability. After certification, the project then receives funding from the NADB. As of 2018 NADB has certified 246 projects worth approximately three billion dollars.
The border program has also facilitated direct provision of infrastructure by the federal and state governments such as the construction of wastewater treatment plants, sewer lines, and raw water storage lagoons. One such example is the construction of the Matamoros lift station which is the first phase in eliminating raw sewage discharges into the Rio Grande. Further, the program emphasizes the provision of environmental education and information to communities living in the region.
See also
*
Nonpoint source water pollution regulations in the United States
References
{{Reflist, colwidth=30em
External links
Summary of the Clean Water ActNPDES State Program InformationEPA Envirofacts- One-stop data search across all EPA programs
United States federal environmental legislation
Water law in the United States
Water pollution in the United States