stormwater Archives

Jul 17, 2019

EPA Announces Six National Compliance Initiatives for 2020-2023

In June 2019, the U.S. EPA’s Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance announced that it has selected six National Compliance Initiatives (“NCIs”) for fiscal years 2020 through 2023. The six priorities are (1) reducing excess air emissions of harmful pollutants from stationary sources; (2) reducing toxic air emissions from hazardous waste facilities; (3) reducing risks of accidental releases at industrial chemical facilities; (4) stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of aftermarket defeat devices for emission controls on vehicles and engines; (5) reducing “significant noncompliance” with wastewater discharge permits; and (6) reducing noncompliance with drinking water standards at community water systems…. Read more

Apr 13, 2015

U.S. EPA Outlines National Strategy for Use of Green Infrastructure by Local Governments

Guidance recently issued by the U.S. EPA details the Obama administration’s national strategy for encouraging municipalities to utilize existing and new green infrastructure to help alleviate climate change. The EPA guidance document, which was released on February 22 and can be read in its entirety here, encourages municipalities to review local ordinances and planning documents to encourage the use of green infrastructure techniques which mimic natural processes such as the use of vegetation to slow down the flow of stormwater and to capture runoff before undiluted pollutants from paved surfaces can enter stormwater and combined sewer sanitary systems. Such techniques… Read more

Jul 30, 2012

EPA Provides Almost $1 Million to Improve Water Quality Green Infrastructure

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it is providing $950,000 to help 17 communities in 16 states expand green infrastructure use. In so doing, EPA hopes to improve water quality, protect people’s health, and benefit communities with job creation and neighborhood revitalization. Green infrastructure uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls, keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems and waterways in local communities. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems. Communities are increasingly using green infrastructure to… Read more

Jun 25, 2012

Georgia’s New Storm Water Permit

The Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources must reissue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits every five years. The previous general permit for industrial storm water discharges was issued in 2006 and expired in 2011. Facilities covered by the 2006 permit must file an application for a notice of intent by June 30 if they wish to continue to be covered by the 2012 general permit. This permit applies to industrial and industrial-like facilities, including manufacturing, transportation & logistics, waste treatment and disposal, airports, and water transportation facilities. It divides industrial activities into different sectors,… Read more

Jun 8, 2012

Stormwater Runoff Not Regulated by Clean Water Act

The U.S. EPA has published a rule specifying that stormwater runoff from logging roads does not require a discharge permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Program. The rule specifies that logging roads on both public and private land should be managed under best management practices, which rules are often developed by states, rather than regulated under the Federal Clean Water Act. The new rule specifies that runoff from logging roads is not a discharge “associated with industrial activity,” and therefore not regulated. For more information, contact Phillip Hoover.