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The Law

The Clean Water Act

Permits

Fines

The Process

Process & Methods

Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Important Guidelines


 

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The Clean Water Act

The History

On June 23, 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire. For over 100 years, this river and others in industrialized areas ignited on occasion. Rivers served as sewer systems for industrial and human waste. Local authorities were generally powerless against the polluters, as there were few legal mechanisms in place. During the 1960s, the ecology movement was growing, images of this flaming river embarrassed the nation, and Randy Newman wrote the song, "Burn on Big River." Within a few years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed and Congress passed the Clean Water Act.

The Law

The Clean Water Act is a long and complex law that regulates discharges into waters of the U.S. The goal of this legislation was to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nation's waters by prohibiting "the discharge of any pollutant by any person." While this goal is not totally achievable, the concrete result of the law was to require that discharges of pollutants be done under a federal permit administered under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

Initially, the Clean Water Act targeted wastewater discharges that were leaving the pipes of factories and publicly owned treatment works and dumped into waterways. Eventually, stormwater washing off urban areas from municipalities, industrial and commercial facilities, and construction sites was also recognized as a significant source of pollutants. The ongoing discovery of the types and sources of pollution and the prioritizing and implementing of solutions have guided the growth of new regulations meant to improve the quality of the nation's waters.

California Stormwater Regulation and Oversight

Federal law requires that each state identify the beneficial uses of its waters. Beneficial uses can include such things as drinking, tourism, transportation, natural habitat, commercial uses, swimming, and so forth. Most states, including California, are authorized to administer the NPDES program on behalf of the EPA in order to protect the beneficial uses. In California, the authority to regulate stormwater runoff under the NPDES system has been delegated to the State Water Resources Control Board and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards.

Each board writes permits in a variety of categories. Different entities "ask permission" to sign on to the permits that apply to their activities and the discharges that result.

Among the different permit categories are the following: (1) permits for heavy industry such as transportation (airports and railroads, for example); permits for cities, counties, schools, prisons, etc. that have separate storm sewer systems from sanitary sewers (hence the term municipal separate storm sewer systems, or MS4s); and (3) construction sites disturbing over one acre of land. Additionally, individual permits are written for facilities with unique operations; one example would be a power company discharging thermally elevated waters used for cooling.

The law requires that it be the owners who seek coverage under the appropriate permit. The owner is then responsible for workers on the property.

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