Clean Water Action Plan

USEPA (1998a). Clean Water Action Plan Restoring and Protecting America s Waters. EPA-840-R-98-001, February. 

Non-point sources are pollution sources that are rather diffuse in nature. Good examples of this type of pollution are water contamination caused by agricultural runoff or acid rain. Controlling and regulating this type of pollution is much more difficult because you can t identify a particular company or individual as the polluter. In recent years, federal and state agencies have attempted to address non-point source pollution. The Clean Water Action Plan of 1998 was one such attempt that focused on watersheds and runoffs. 

The development of tlie emergency planning and response actions under CERCLA is based primarily on a national contingency plan that was developed under the Clean Water Act. Although the actions of CERCLA liave the capabilities to handle haziirdous and toxic releases, tlie act was primarily directed tow ard the cleanup of abandoned haztirdous waste sites. 

Waterside problems that lead to decreases in efficiency and material deterioration can be caused by a variety of mechanisms, such as electrochemical corrosion and deposition of foulants. These problems can be exacerbated by low flow, poor operational practice, process contamination, or specific stresses. It is also important to try to determine cause and effect relationships in order to provide a logical and practical water treatment solution. Such a solution will usually involve some form of cleaning, plus a combined engineering and chemical action plan. Inspection may be made easier by the use of a Boroscope or similar optical/video recording device. The color, texture, and quantity of all deposits should be noted, measurements of pits taken, and microbiological contaminants analyzed. It may be useful to conduct biocide efficiency tests on bacterial slimes. The period when a heat exchanger is open for inspection may be an opportune time for the permanent installation of ports for corrosion-monitoring probes. 

As the White House discussion wore on, an idea developed to bridge between the polarized positions. The idea was that the National Contingency Plan (NCP) for handling spills under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act could be expanded and tailored to provide a vehicle for making reasonable and prioritized decisions about response actions and the level of clean-up. The revised NCP idea was written up in several tentative drafts, but the White House meetings and the White House effort broke up after Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 election. 

Section 105 directs the President to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) (formerly limited to emergency response under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act) to include a new "hazardous substance response plan" setting out procedures and standards for response actions. This revision may be adopted only after notice and opportunity for public comment. 

In instances where free product is lost, vacuum recovery systems and/or absorbents may be used to remove the surface concentrations before the ground-water investigation begins. These actions, normally taken as the first step in the remedial action plan, often render the land surface at the site nearly clean before the ground-water problem is studied. 

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