Regulations for Strowwater Management

Stormwater runoff is part of a natural hydrologic cycle. However, intensive human activities can alter natural drainage patterns and add pollutants to receiving waterbodies such as rivers, lakes, streams, coastal bays, estuaries, and the ocean. Pollutants associated with stormwater include sediment, nutrients, bacteria and viruses, oil and grease, metals, organics, pesticides, and gross pollutants (litter). In addition, nutrient-rich stormwater runoff is an attractive medium for vector production when it accumulates and stands for more than 72 hours.

Polluted stormwater runoff is a leading cause of impairment to almost 40 percent of surveyed U.S. waterbodies which do not meet water quality standards. The Clean Water Act (CWA) was enacted in 1972 with the objective of “restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations under the CWA control the point source discharge of stormwater from industrial facilities. The 1987 amendments to the CWA added Section 402(p) establishe a framework for regulating municipal and industrial stormwater discharges under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Under NPDES, any individual or industry responsible for the discharge of a pollutant or pollutants into any waters of the United States from any point source must have a permit.

Federal law requires that industrial stormwater discharges meet all provisions of Section 301 and 402 of the CWA in order to control pollutant discharges. These provisions require individuals and industries to reduce pollutants and employ any more stringent controls necessary to meet water quality standards with the Best Practicable Control Technology Currently Available (BPT), Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology (BCT), and Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (BAT) established in the NPDES.

Copyright @ January,2005 Prepared by Transportation Environmental Resource Center (TERC)