EPA, States and Permittees Take on Significant Non-Compliance

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