Tag: Clean Water Act
Water regulation: what to expect in 2013
Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water, kicked off the presentation with a discussion of the environmental challenges ahead: population growth, development, climate change, and degradation of existing infrastructure. She emphasized that the greatest tool to overcome our obstacles is partnership, which was a recurring theme in many of this year’s presentations. […]
When to Report an Oil Spill
Your Facility Could Be Exempt from SPCC Requirements
Although more than 600,000 facilities are subject to EPA’s SPCC regulations, there are certain facilities, and portions of facilities, that are exempt from the SPCC requirements. Do any of these apply to you? You are out of EPA jurisdiction. The owner or operator of any facility, equipment, or operation that is not subject to the […]
Company Fined $170k for Dumping in Protected Wetlands, Should’ve Had a Permit
More SPCC Q&As
In terms of SPCC regulations, are there any broader or stricter views of the definition, for example, of navigable waterway? The definition of “navigable waterways” has not been expressly addressed in the new rule revisions. EPA has always held a very broad definition of what navigable waterways meant. I’ve seen very few facilities that could […]
What Will Be Happening with Pesticides in 2012
She points out that mandated by a 2009 court decision, EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) went into effect for point source discharges from pesticide application to U.S. waters. The PGP is believed to be the first permitting requirement of its type many small farmers will face in 2012. State-issued […]
Will You Do the Time for an Enviro Crime?
EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Division (CID) has changed priorities in recent years and has been seeking prosecution of individual defendants as high up the corporate hierarchy as there is evidence. For this the Agency offers one simple reason–corporate managers will think twice about deliberately breaking the law if they understand that they face jail time and […]
EPA’s Strategy for Improving CWA
These new threats are so widespread that EPA has released a strategy to place more emphasis on protecting healthy waters. And, existing resources may have to be spread even thinner to meet standards. According to EPA, sources of stress vary regionally, but mainly comprise agriculture; stormwater runoff; habitat, hydrology and landscape modification; invasive species; the […]