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After section 208's failure to control NPS water pollution, in 1987 Congress passed the Water Quality Act which included a new section 319 to address the problem of nonpoint sources. [30] This provision, also non-regulatory, authorizes EPA to fund demonstration programs and provide technical assistance to state and local governments.
The Clean Water Act has made great strides in reducing point source water pollution, but this effect is overshadowed by the fact that nonpoint source pollution, which is not subject to regulation under the Act, has correspondingly increased. [41] One of the solutions to address this imbalance is point/nonpoint source trading of pollutants.
The first FWPCA was enacted in 1948, but took on its modern form when completely rewritten in 1972 in an act entitled the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. [4] [1] Major changes have subsequently been introduced via amendatory legislation including the Clean Water Act of 1977 [5] and the Water Quality Act (WQA) of 1987. [6]
TMDL is the end product of all point and non-point source pollutants of a single contaminant. Pollutants that originate from a point source are given allowable levels of contaminants to be discharged; this is the waste load allocation (WLA). Nonpoint source pollutants are also calculated into the TMDL equation with load allocation (LA). [7]
Generally BMPs focus on water quality problems caused by increased impervious surfaces from land development. [11] BMPs are designed to reduce stormwater volume, peak flows, and/or nonpoint source pollution through evapotranspiration, infiltration, detention, and filtration or biological and chemical actions. [12]
The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) defines point source for regulatory enforcement purposes (see United States regulation of point source water pollution). [52] The CWA definition of point source was amended in 1987 to include municipal storm sewer systems, as well as industrial storm water, such as from construction sites. [53]
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law regulating water pollution in the United States. The language of the Clean Water Act describes itself as pertaining to "Waters of the United States". The act defines these waters as "navigable waterways", which connects the act to constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce.
The Act also requires use of best management practices for a wide range of other water discharges including nonpoint source pollution. [20] Thermal pollution discharges are regulated under section 316(a) of the CWA. [21] NPDES permits include effluent limitations on water temperature to protect the biotic life supported by a water body. A ...