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National Enforcement Initiatives for Fiscal Years 2008 - 2010:
Clean Water Act: Stormwater
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
Planning Topics
Annual Results Report
For additional civil and criminal compliance and enforcement results, see:
On February 22, 2010, EPA renamed its "National Enforcement Priorities" to "National Enforcement Initiatives" and announced the Agency’s National Enforcement Initiatives for the 2011-2013 fiscal years.
On this page:
- Problem
- Approach
- Key Results
- Highlights
- Transition to the FY 2011-2013 National Enforcement Initiative
Problem
Stormwater runoff from construction activities and sewers in large urban areas significantly impairs water quality in rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, estuaries, near-shore ocean, and wetlands nation-wide. Soil disturbance and vegetation removal that occurs during construction increases erosion that transports sediment into waterways. As stormwater flows over construction and industrial sites, it carries other pollutants including: pesticides, petroleum, chemicals, solvents, asphalt, acid, and debris from the land into water sources that serve as drinking water, aquatic habitat, and public swimming areas. Urban stormwater discharged from storm sewers, called municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), is a major source of water quality impairment. Storm water picks up and transports these pollutants and then discharges untreated water into waterways through storm sewer systems.
Approach
To reduce water impairments from stormwater, EPA developed the Clean Water Act: Stormwater Strategy Summary of 2008 - 2010 (PDF) (2pp, 30K, About PDF). The Stormwater strategy aims to achieve maximum compliance with environmental regulations in order to protect human health and the environment. EPA uses compliance assistance, compliance monitoring, and enforcement tools, as appropriate, towards achieving goals and environmental outcomes of the strategy.During 2008-2010, EPA focused on Clean Water Act violations from stormwater runoff from the following industries: homebuilding construction, big box store construction, and ready mix concrete with crushed stone, sand, and gravel operations. EPA also investigates other sectors such as ports, road building operations, and federal facility construction to monitor compliance with Clean Water Act stormwater requirements.
Key Results
| Fiscal Year (FY) |
Estimated Pollutants to be Reduced or Treated (lbs)* |
Estimated Investments in Pollution Control ($)** |
Civil Penalties ($)*** |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1,300 million | $69 million | $7.7 million |
| 2009 | 200 million | $59 million | $4.9 million |
| 2010 | 660 million | $99 million | $7.4 million |
*Estimated pollutants reduced or treated is an estimate of the pounds of pollutants reduced, treated, or eliminated during the first year after a facility returns to compliance.
** Estimated investments in pollution control is an estimate of the defendant's cost to comply with consent decrees through the installation of appropriate pollutant controls. The values for FY 2008 through FY 2009 are adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator.
*** Civil Penalties are penalties assessed, not collected. The values for FY 2008 through FY 2009 are adjusted for inflation.
Highlights
- In FY 2010, EPA targeted enforcement actions against large home building construction sites and ready mix concrete facilities that also manufacture sand, gravel, or crushed stone in FY 2010, gaining commitments to reduce an estimated 660 million pounds of pollutants in the first year after the facilities return to compliance.
- EPA addressed the top 10 companies that build homes, the top six retail companies that build big box stores, and 10% of the companies that manufacture ready mix concrete and/or sand, gravel, or crushed stone, for compliance with stormwater permits.
- The primary pollutants reduced by these stormwater enforcement actions are particulate solids, oil, nutrients, oxygen demanding pollutants, and metals.
- A FY 2010 settlement with Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. will reduce an estimated 370 million pounds of sediment from flowing into local waterways in 18 states
- The settlement will protect an impaired water body, the Chesapeake Bay, with reductions of pollutants at 161 constructions sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland, Virginia, & the District of Columbia.1
- The settlement will protect an impaired water body, the Chesapeake Bay, with reductions of pollutants at 161 constructions sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Maryland, Virginia, & the District of Columbia.1
- The State of Alaska will comply with Clean Water Act requirements for stormwater runoff from construction sites, resulting in reduction of more than an estimated 210 million pounds of sediment under the terms of an amended consent decree in FY 2010
- Reducing pollution from construction projects, such as sediment and materials used in construction sites including paint, used oil, pesticides, and solvents, is important because construction sites disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion and flow of construction materials into the nearest waterway.
- EPA created a new web site for the ready mix concrete sector to help regulated entities comply with stormwater requirements under the Clean Water Act that generated more than 3,600 site visits.
- EPA regional staff provided compliance assistance regarding stormwater compliance with the Clean Water Act to 2,494 concentrated animal feeding operations, 28 combined sewer overflow systems, 272 sanitary sewer overflow systems, 2,522 ready mix concrete facilities, and more than 10,000 facilities in other sectors in FY 2010.
Transition to the FY 2011-2013 National Enforcement Initiative on Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated Stormwater Out of Our Nation's Waters
In 2009 EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) conducted outreach to other EPA programs, EPA Regions, states and tribal governments, environmental media associations, environmental advocacy and environmental justice groups, and the public to solicit suggestions for OECA's enforcement initiatives for the 2011-2013 fiscal years. There was widespread support for continuing EPA's work on reducing pollution from raw sewage and contaminated stormwater. Work under this initiative will continue in 2011-2013 to focus on reducing discharges from combined sewer overflows ("CSOs"), sanitary sewer overflows ("SSOs"), and municipal separate storm sewer systems ("MS4s") in FY2011-13, by obtaining cities' commitments to implement timely, affordable solutions to these problems, including increased use of green infrastructure and other innovative approaches.
Footnote:
- U.S. EPA. "Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. Settlement." Internet.