New organization seeks to share messages nationally All municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permits issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a delegated state authority require public education as a strategy to improve stormwater and receiving water quality by changing public behavior. Public education is the primary workhorse of nonstructural best management […]
With communities seeking cost-effective approaches to upgrading stormwater and wastewater systems, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced the Clean Water Compliance and Affordability Act. The bill directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national integrated planning pilot program. The bill would help accelerate integrated planning, which is intended […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its proposed Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit remand rule. The proposed rule addresses how small MS4s seek and incorporate public comment and agency reviews into their permits. The official proposed rule was published in the Federal Register Jan. 6, beginning a 75-day public […]
A settlement filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit would require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its 1999 Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits for small communities with populations fewer than 100,000. EPA reached a settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the […]
On July 7, a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Industrial Stormwater Permit. This permit regulates stormwater in 30 industrial sectors in Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Mexico — states that have not been delegated Clean Water Act permitting authority — as well as in Washington, […]
Nine case studies show how communities across the U.S. are developing tools to overcome stormwater challenges. These solutions will be presented at the 2015 Stormwater Congress.
On April 8, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) agreed to implement a statewide compliance program and to pay a $750,000 civil penalty to settle alleged Clean Water Act violations at two road construction sites. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, two sites inspected in 2010 and 2011 had significant erosion control issues, including […]
In a March 30 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Flood Control District liable for violating the terms of a 2001 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. While the court ruled that compliance with a newer 2012 NPDES permit should be […]
In a brief filed Dec. 23, nine states and one Canadian province requested that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirm a district court’s determination that the 2008 Water Transfers Rule is an unreasonable and arbitrary interpretation of the Clean Water Act and should therefore be invalidated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s […]
On Nov. 28, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the “Financial Capability Assessment Framework for Municipal Clean Water Act Requirements.” The framework is designed to help communities develop a more accurate and complete picture of their ability to pay for Clean Water Act obligations, emphasizing factors beyond the 2% threshold for median income. The new […]
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