Today’s Local Environment—The Compliance Podcast

EPA, States and Permittees Take on Significant Non-Compliance


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Sixty percent of facilities in significant non-compliance (SNC) with their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits are small municipal wastewater treatment plants. The Clean Water Act’s permit program regulates point sources of water pollution, such as discharges from publicly owned municipal wastewater treatment plants. Why is this? And what can we do about it? Join ELI’s Shehla and Cynthia for a conversation with Dan Palmer, Deputy Division Director of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, all about NPDES permits, EPA’s new National Compliance Initiative for Reducing SNC with NPDES Permits, and actions local governments -- especially those operating small systems -- can take to tackle their compliance challenges.

Guest:

Dan Palmer, Deputy Division Director of Planning, Measures, and Oversight Division, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

A transcript of this episode is available at https://lgean.net/podcasts.php

Additional Resources:

Overview of Clean Water Act (CWA)

NPDES Permit Basics

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)

National Rural Water Association (NRWA)

Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP)

WaterOperator.org 

Technical Assistance Webinar Series: Improving CWA-NPDES Permit Compliance

EPA Water Finance Clearinghouse

EPA Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center

Environmental Finance Center Network

Compliance Tips for Small, Mechanical Wastewater Treatment Plants 

Report Environmental Violations with ECHO

Report an Environmental Emergency with the National Response Center 

  • By phone: 800-424-8802

  • Acronyms

    BOD: Biochemical Oxygen Demand

    CWA: Clean Water Act

    DMR: Discharge Monitoring Report

    ECHO: Enforcement & Compliance History Online

    EFCN: Environmental Finance Center Network

    EPA: Environmental Protection Agency

    NCI: National Compliance Initiative

    NPDES: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

    NRWA: National Rural Water Association

    POTW: Publicly owned treatment work

    RCAP: Rural Community Assistance Partnership

    SNC: Significant noncompliance

    TSS: Total Suspended Solids

    WWTPs: Wastewater Treatment Plants


    *DL: Down low

    *GMTA: Great minds think alike

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    Today’s Local Environment—The Compliance PodcastBy Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN)