Clean Water Act

Cleaning up the clean water act

Clean Water Act Markup

Clean Water Act Marku

Illinois Water Quality and the Clean Water Act

This report contains the conclusions of a study performed by the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest ("ELPC") on the water quality of Illinois' rivers, lakes and streams, and Illinois' implementation of the Clean Water Act. The Lumpkin Foundation of Mattoon, Illinois provided funding for the study. Because the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency ("IEPA") is responsible for implementing the Clean Water Act in Illinois and for preparing most of the key reports relating to Illinois water quality, our research necessarily focused on the work of that agency. ELPC studied the publicly available IEPA data on a number of key indicators of water quality and the strength of a number of elements of IEPA's water pollution control efforts. Within the resources available for this study, ELPC also looked, for comparison purposes, at data from federal agencies and selected data collected by pollution control agencies of other states. Further, ELPC conducted interviews with federal and state officials and others with knowledge relating to the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Illinois water quality program. The study considered the following areas: Illinois Water Quality; Amount and Kind of Water Quality Data Collected; Strength of Water Quality Standards; Adequacy of Permit Conditions For Preventing Violations of Water Quality Standards; Permit Enforcement; Illinois' Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflow Programs; Illinois' Non-Point Source Programs. Project Team: Howard Learner, Executive Director; Ann Alexander, Staff Attorney; Faith Bugel, Staff Attorney; Albert Ettinger, Senior Staff Attorney*; Shannon Fisk, Staff Attorney. * Principal Autho

Local Land Use: Decision Expands Federal Government\u27s Role

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to its authority under the Clean Water Act, has promulgated regulations creating the Storm Water Management Program. Contrary to the overall Clean Water Act scheme, which focuses on reducing pollution from point sources, the program has the objective of reducing non-point source water pollution. However, this program is not without controversy as heavy burdens are placed upon local governments, who themselves lack the financial resources, manpower, or technology to implement a complex federal system without federal or state assistance

Regulating Industrial Water Pollution in the United States

The performance of the industrial point-source water pollution abatement program in the U.S. Clean Water Act is examined. I begin with a brief description of the statute and then turn to a description of the process used to develop the rules that govern effluent discharges. This is followed by a discussion of the outcomes resulting from efforts to apply these rules to industrial pollutant sources. Two types of outcomes are considered: administrative outcomes and outcomes in the water. Last, the issue of implementation is discussed: how the Clean Water Act may have affected the incentives governing the behavior of industrial dischargers, municipal waste treatment plant operators, and regulators. Surprisingly, there is some evidence that the Clean Water Act, at least as far as industrial point sources are concerned, may be evolving into an effluent fee policy, or at least a mixed policy.effluent guidelines, indirect dischargers, water quality

WETLANDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION ISSUES

The federal government program for wetlands regulation is administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Proposals for amending and/or reforming the Section 404 program are included in Congressional deliberations regarding Clean Water Act reauthorization. Specific issues of public policy include the definition of "waters of the United States", criteria for delineation of jurisdictional wetlands, definition of activities exempt from regulation, mitigation and classification of wetlands, and issues of property rights.Wetlands regulation, Wetlands delineation, Wetlands classification, Property rights, Wetlands policy, Wetlands migration, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Medical Waste, a Loaded Gun on the Verge of Firing: United States v. Plaza Health Laboratories, Inc.

This Case Note examines United States v. Plaza Health, a Court of Appeals decision from the Second Circuit, in which the court held that, in the criminal context, a person is not a point source under the Clean Water Act by virtue of the rule of lenity. The author asserts that the court should have found a person to be a point source and elevated the individual’s punishment to a criminal violation under the Clean Water Act\u27s knowing endangerment provision. In holding that a person is not a point source, the court did not follow precedents by failing to extend the definition of a point source under the Clean Water Act. This Case Note concludes that it is necessary to categorize a person as a point source to effectuate the goals of the Clean Water Act

Legal Tools for Climate Adaptation Advocacy: Clean Water Act Permitting and Funding Programs

Climate change imperils the quality of water resources and aquatic ecosystems by introducing or exacerbating supply challenges and pollution threats. Existing legal frameworks, including permitting and grant programs, can incorporate climate change adaptation into the way we protect water. In particular, the Clean Water Act—the primary tool used nationwide to protect surface waters from pollutant discharges and fill activity—can be used to promote climate change adaptation in a number of ways. The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987. The statute is principally administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which issues regulations, brings enforcement actions, awards grants, and more. Clean Water Act permitting is often administered by the states, subject to EPA oversight. At the same time, states are able to enact their own water protection laws beyond the scope of federal law. In order to use the Clean Water Act to encourage adaptation to climate change, both federal and state authorities can reconsider how permits are issued and how grants are pursued and awarded. For instance, as climate change renders clean freshwater resources scarcer in many places, authorities can respond by imposing stricter pollution limits through the Clean Water Act where necessary to protect an increasingly stressed water supply, accounting for both current conditions and future trends. Furthermore, as climate change creates new or increased pollution threats for some waterways, Clean Water Act authorities can respond through permitting processes or strategic funding opportunities