The Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act strives to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation s water. The act sets up a system of water quality standards, discharge limitations, and permits. If a project may result in the 

If the water quality of a water body is potentially affected by a proposed action (e.g., construction of a wastewater treatment plant), a NPDES permit may be required. The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for this program however, in most cases, has turned this responsibility over to the states as long as the individual state program is acceptable. 

1294 Wastewater recycling and reuse information andsec. 214 education  

1374 Effluent standards and water quality information advisory committee sec. 515 

Subchapter VI - State Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds  

Early emphasis was on controlling discharges of conventional pollutants (e.g. suspended solids or bacteria that are biodegradable and occur naturally in 

1981 Municipal Wastewater Treatment Construction Grant Amendments P.L. 97-117 

Amendments in 1987 authorized measures to address non-point source pollution (storm water runoff from farm lands, forests, construction sites and urban areas), now estimated by the states to represent the largest remaining water pollution problem in the USA (USEPA, 2000). Because of this, although toxics remain a significant component in the mix of non-point runoff, other major pollutants such as nutrients have risen to the fore of public concern for action. Presently the major thrust in implementation of the CWA is to manage on a watershed basis and integrate all parts of the CWA to operate in an integrated fashion, instead of in isolation. 

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The Clean Water Act (1972) requires discharge limits to be set on industrial and municipal wastewater, and these analyses are outlined in the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System for the 600 Series Methods. Method 624 covers the analysis of purgeable organic compounds Method 625 covers the analysis of 81 bases, neutrals, and acids Method 613 describes the analysis of dioxins and furans. 

Glean Water Act. The Water QuaUty Act of 1987 and Clean Water Act of 1977 amended the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, and are known collectively as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Their objective is to restore and maintain the integrity of U.S. waters. There are spill prevention, control, and containment requirements with which to comply. It requires replacement of older storage tanks or installation of double bottoms or seals. 

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) controls the disposal of ha2ardous waste. SARA Tide III governs the toxic iaventory and emission reporting the Clean Water Act (CWA) sets the limits for metals that can be present ia water discharge and the Clear Air Act (CAA)... 

The two main federal agencies involved in the protection of human health and the environment are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). EPA s principal concern is the protection of the environment, in most cases, the area outside of an industrial faciUty. There are 10 regional offices that carry out the regulatory functions of the agency (Table 1). Primary laws covered by EPA are the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and LiabiUty Act (CERCLA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and Eederal Insecticide, Eungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

Effluent Guidelines and Standards. The Clean Water Act requires specific levels of control for dischargers. These are outlined in the Effluent Guidelines and Standards for various industrial categories. These standards limit the discharge of pollutants, usually in terms of a unit weight of pollutant per unit of either product or raw material, rather than a concentration in the discharge stream, in order to eliminate the use of dilution to meet limits. 

The introduction of surfactant products into the environment, after use by consumers or as part of waste disposed during manufacture, is regulated by the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In this respect, surfactants are subject to the same regulations as chemicals in general. There are, however, two areas of specific relevance to surfactants and detergent products, ie, biodegradabiUty and eutrophication. 

Biological Criteria While the overall mandate of the Clean Water Act may now be more clearly stated and understood, the tools needed are stiU under development, and their bill application is being worked out. The direction is towards a more comprehensive approach to water quality protection, which might be more appropriately termed water resource protection to encompass the living resources and their habitat along with the water itself. 

From the perspective of ecological integrity called for in the Clean Water Act, any adjustment to the implementation of toxic metals criteria needs to be integrated with both sediment criteria and biological criteria to provide ecosystem protection envisioned by the Act. 

A major tac tic that was adopted in the Clean Water Act was to estabhsh uniform technology standards, by class of pollutant and specific industiy type, which applied nationwide to aU dischargers. Thus, a kraft mill in Oregon would have to meet essentially the same discharge standards as a kraft mill in New York. In establishing these... 

Act, making it more consistent with other environmental statutes. The Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act all require permits. 

Any substance designated under the Clean Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) as posing a threat to waterways and the environment when released. 

Enter the numbers of any permits your facility holds under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) even if the permit(s) do not pertain to the toxic chemical being reported. This 9-digit permit number is assigned to yourfacility by EPA orthe State under the authority of the Clean Water Act. If yourfacility does not have a permit, enter not applicable, NA, in box a. 

Table 7. Major U.S. Code Sections of the Clean Water Act (codified generally as 33 U.S.C. 1251-1387)...

You can obtain in-depth information on the Clean Water Act from the following references,... 

Sehneider, Paul. Clear Progress, 25 Years of the Clean Water Act. AUDUBON. September/Oetober 1997. pp.36-47,106-107. 

Non-RCRA-permitted TSDs and waste treatment activities not covered by RCRA (e.g., wastewater treatment facilities permitted under the Clean Water Act) are not covered by HAZWOPER, except for emergency response and some limited waste management operations. Specific HAZWOPER elements are assimilated into the existing health and safety program based on hazard analyses. Worker protection requirements are met through existing health and safety plans [1]. 

EPA s Office of Water directs callers with questions about the Clean Water Act to the appropriate EPA office. EPA also maintains a bibliographic database of Office of Water publications. The Safe Drinking Water Hotline number is +1 800 426-4791. 

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. 

Agency (EPA), which was established in 1970, the same year the first Clean Air Act was passed into law. In 1972 the Clean Water Act became law, and in 1973 the Endangered Species Act became law. Other important federal environmental legislation includes the Resource Consei vation and Recoveiy Act, passed in 1976 the Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 the Nuclear Waste Policy Acts of 1982 and 1987 and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Acts of 1980 and 1985. From 1980 to 2000 these environmental regulations, and the enforcement efforts of the EPA, have had a much greater impact on decisions made in the energy industiy than all the policy initiatives implemented by the DOE. 

The U.S. Supreme Court rtil es that states have the authority under the Clean Water Act to establish minimum streamflows at hydro projects. The ruling gives states more authority in hydro licensing and relicensing decisions. 

Reportable Quantity (RQ)—The quantity of a hazardous substance that is considered reportable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Reportable quantities are (1) 1 pound or greater or (2) for selected substances, an amount established by regulation either under CERCLA or under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act. Quantities are measured over a 24-hour period. 

Endosulfan - designated CERCLA hazardous substance under sections 311 (b)(4), and 307(a), of the Clean Water Act and RCRA section 3001... 

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