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Water

EPA enforces federal clean water and safe drinking water laws, provides support for municipal wastewater treatment plants, and takes part in pollution prevention efforts aimed at protecting watersheds and sources of drinking water.

Major Environmental Laws

General Information

Topics:

Animal Feeding Operations
See: Cross-Cutting Issues: Animal Feeding Operations

Biosolids
Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge. Only biosolids that meet the most stringent standards spelled out in federal and state rules can be approved for use as a fertilizer.

Read more at Biosolids.  Includes guidance, publications, and answers to frequent questions.

Drinking Water
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans' drinking water. Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.

Read more at Regulatory Information: The Safe Drinking Water Act

 See also:

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Ground Water
Many communities obtain their drinking water from aquifers. Unfortunately, the ground water can become contaminated by human activity. These chemicals can enter the soil and rock, polluting the aquifer and eventually the well.

Read more at Ground Water

  • Laws and Regulations
    • Ground Water Rule: Provides for increased protection against microbial pathogens in public water systems that use ground water sources.
    • Underground Injection Control Program: Responsible for regulating the construction, operation, permitting and closure of injection wells that place fluids underground for storage or disposal.
    • Source Water Protection: The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act provide a new approach for EPA and states. In addition to relying on standards and regulations that address water safety at the tap, measures are in place to ensure the quality of drinking water by protecting it from the source to the tap.

Hydraulic Fracturing

Impaired Waters
Under Section 303 D of the Clean Water Act, states, territories and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters that are too polluted or otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states, territories, or authorized tribes.

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Mercury
See Cross-Cutting Issues: Mercury.

Mountaintop Mining
Mining operations are regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA), including discharges of pollutants to streams from valley fills (CWA Section 402) and the valley fill itself where the rock and dirt is placed in streams and wetlands (CWA Section 404).  Coal mining operations are also regulated under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA).

Read more at Mid-Atlantic Mountaintop Mining.

Oceans and Coastal Waters

Surface Water: Lakes, Rivers, and Streams

  • Surface Water Standards and Guidance: including water quality standards, water quality criteria under CWA Section 304(a)(1), and cooling water intake structures under CWA Section 316(b).

Stormwater
EPA controls storm water and sewer overflow discharges through its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. NPDES provides guidance to municipalities and state and federal permitting authorities on how to meet stormwater pollution control goals as flexibly and cost-effectively as possible.

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Wastewater
EPA regulates the discharge and treatment of wastewater under the Clean Water Act. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) issues permits to all wastewater dischargers and treatment facilities. These permits establish specific discharge limits, monitoring and reporting requirements and may also require these facilities to undertake special measures to protect the environment from harmful pollutants.

See also Animal Feeding Operations.

Watersheds

Wetlands

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