IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS FOR WATER QUALITY REGULATION

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IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS FOR WATER QUALITY REGULATION

• Module 22, part b Implementation Tools

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Objectives

• Students will be able to
• describe tools that are used to achieve common
  water quality goals.
• outline the history and coverage of the National
  Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
• discuss the effects of Section 404 on wetlands
  and other bodies of water.
• evaluate the effects of Section 401 on state
  water quality.
• explain the parameters of Section 319 program for
  nonpoint sources.
• state the key components to the Clean Water State
  Revolving Fund.

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Tools to help achieve water quality goals

• What are tools
• Common permit programs
• Common grant programs
• Other applicable regulations

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What are tools?

• Tools are used to help implement policies or
  goals.
• Tools are often described as strategies in a
  water management plan.
• Widely used tools include
• Encouragement
• Incentives
• Regulation
• Land acquisition or public ownership

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Tools defined

• Encouragement
• Incentives
• Regulation
• Acquisition/Public Ownership

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What is the right tool for the task?

• Cost
• Political Will
• Market Characteristics
• Permanency
• Importance of Goal

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Why use encouragement or education?

• Use market forces to realize
  community goals.
• Preserve property rights.
• Reduce program and
  implementation costs.
• Education has long-term impacts.

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Why use incentives?

• To compensate for market failure or market
  barriers.
• Preserve rights of property
  owners.
• To speed realization of the
  communitys vision.
• To ensure long-term
  consistency with the
  community vision.
• Money talks

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Why use regulation?

• Regulations clearly tell people whats expected
  of them.
• Compliance is highest when actions are mandated.
• Regulations treat everyone the same way.
• Regulations balance interests of the community
  with those of individuals.

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Why use acquisition?

• To acquire lands needed to permanently protect
  local water and environmental resources.
• To provide permanent protection of lands for the
  good of the whole community.
• Most programs require willingness by landowner to
  sell the parcels to the government.
• Probably never will be, sufficient public funding
  available to acquire outright all the important
  water resource lands that need protection.

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Implementing water quality regulations

• Water quality laws have already been established.
  This is a regulation tool, however, the same
  tools can be used to ensure compliance of a
  regulation
• Regulation uses permit programs and enforcement.
  This is the tool most frequently applied.
• Encouragement through education and public
  process is also used as a tool to motivate people
  to do the right thing.
• Incentives are available through local government
  grants to help fund the regulations.

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Regulation of the CWA

• The CWA provides a number of regulatory and
  voluntary tools that can be useful in achieving
  needed reductions.
• These tools are not the only answer. Other
  programs may also be able to provide tools on the
  local level.

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Regulation using permit programs

• Section 402 better known as the National
  Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
  program.
• Section 404 program regulates filling of wetlands
  and other waters.
• Section 401 requires a state water quality
  certification before a permit is issued.

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Section 402 - History

• 1970s began to realize that storm water was a
  major problem (point sources)
• 1980s development of the National Urban Runoff
  Program and other studies
• 1990s development of the NPDES Phase I storm
  water program (nonpoint sources)
• 2000 development of the NPDES Phase II stormwater
  pollution prevention program (nonpoint sources)

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Section 402 - NPDES coverage

• Industrial and municipal discharges
• Mining operations
• Animal feedlots and aquaculture facilities above
  certain thresholds.
• Discharges from storm sewer systems in larger
  cities (MS4s)
• Storm water associated with numerous kinds of
  industrial activity
• Runoff from construction sites disturbing more
  than one acre

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Responsibility for issuing permits?

• Most often state administered.
• If the state does not have authorization the EPA
  will be the permitting authority.

USEPA
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NPDES Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program
(SWPPP) requires education and regulation

• Control measures for local government to follow
  at a minimum include
• public education and outreach
• public involvement and participation
• illicit discharge detection and elimination
• construction site storm water runoff control
• post construction storm water management
• pollution prevention/good housekeeping for
  municipal operations

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Section 404 program

• Section 404 actually deals with one broad type of
  pollution -- placement of dredged or fill
  material into waters of the U.S. Wetlands are
  one component of however, there are numerous
  other types -- intermittent streams, small
  perennial streams, rivers, lakes, bays,
  estuaries, and portions of the oceans.
• Administered jointly by Army Corps of Engineers
  and EPA (except delegated states or tribes).

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Section 404 program

• One of the controversial aspects of Section 404
  is exactly what is and isn't a wetland. Federal
  regulations define wetlands as
• "Those areas that are inundated or saturated by
  surface or ground water at a frequency and
  duration sufficient to support, and that under
  normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of
  vegetation typically adapted for life in
  saturated soil." 33CFR328.3(b) (italics added).

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Essence of section 404 policies

• Sequencing a step-wise process in which one
  must go through one step before going on to the
  next. The steps are
• Avoidance
• Minimization
• Compensation

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Section 401 Water Quality Certification

• A federal agency must obtain certification that
  the discharge is consistent with the CWA from the
  state in which the project takes place.
• Downstream states whose water quality may be
  affected by a federally-permitted or licensed
  project can also engage in the 401 process.

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Section 401 Water Quality Certification

• Applies to 404 permits from the Corps of
  Engineers and EPA-issued NPDES permits.
• Key issue in re-licensing of private hydropower
  dams by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  (FERC.)

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Incentives through programs

• Section 319 program for nonpoint sources mostly
  through grants
• State revolving loan fund (SRF). Provides large
  amounts of money in the form of loans for
  municipal point sources, nonpoint sources, and
  other activities.

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Section 319

• Nonpoint sources are not addressed by regulation.
• Section 319 created a federal grant program that
  provides money to develop and implement NPS
  management programs.
• States, territories, and delegated tribes are
  required to develop nonpoint source pollution
  management programs (if they wish to receive 319
  funds).

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Section 319

• Once a nonpoint source program is approved, EPA
  provides grants to these entities to implement
  the program.
• States and territories "pass on" a substantial
  fraction of the 319 funds they receive from EPA
  to support local nonpoint source pollution
  management efforts. Depending on the state or
  territory, a "local match" may be required.

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Section 319

• To develop own nonpoint source pollution
  regulatory programs.
• Other uses for funds (percentages vary)
• developing and implementing TMDLs
• implementing clean lakes program activities
• protecting groundwater.
• developing and implementing best management
  practices.

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Clean Water State Revolving Fund

• Grants for low interest loans
• States must match the federal funds
• Some funds are provided to territories and tribes
  to be used as grants for municipal wastewater
  treatment projects.

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Summary

• The regulatory programs (Sections 401, 402, 404)
  are enforcement permits administered by the
  federal and state governments under the CWA.
• The incentive program (Section 319) is used to
  encourage state, tribal, non-territorial
  governments to implement nonpoint source
  programming.

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References

• Local Government Environmental Assistance
  Network. International City/County Management
  Association. http//www.lgean.org/html/regs.cfm.
• Environmental Pollution Control Agency. Watershed
  Academy Web Introduction to the Clean Water
  Act. April 19, 2003. http//www.epa.gov/watertrain
  /
• Environmental Pollution Control Agency. Model
  Ordinances to Protect Local Resources.
  http//www.epa.gov/owow/nps/ordinance/. Sept
  2002.
• Minnesota Dept of Administration. From policy to
  reality model ordinances for sustainable
  development. http//server.admin.state.mn.us/resou
  rce.html?Id1927.