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National Enforcement Initiatives for Fiscal Years 2011 - 2013
Planning Topics
During the 2011 – 2013 fiscal years, EPA will use National Enforcement Initiatives to address the following six environmental and public health problems:
- Keeping raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of our nation’s waters
- Preventing animal waste from contaminating surface and ground waters
- Cutting Toxic Air Pollution that Affects Communities’ Health
- Reducing Widespread Air Pollution from the Largest Sources, especially the Coal-Fired Utility, Cement, Glass, and Acid Sectors
- Reducing pollution from mineral processing operations
- Assuring energy extraction sector compliance with environmental laws
Keeping Raw Sewage and Contaminated Stormwater Out of our Nation’s Waters
EPA will continue its enforcement focus on reducing discharges of raw sewage and contaminated stormwater into our nation’s rivers, streams and lakes. Older urban areas in particular have aging sewer systems that are not designed to handle heavy rainfall and snowfall, in addition to growing urban populations and industrial discharges. As a result, untreated sewage too frequently overflows from sewers into waterways, or backs up into city streets or basements of homes. Raw sewage contains pathogens that threaten public health, leading to beach closures and public advisories against fishing and swimming. This problem particularly affects older urban areas, where minority and low income communities are often concentrated. In addition, stormwater runoff from urban streets and construction sites carries sediment, metal, oil and grease, acid, chemicals, toxic materials and industrial waste into surface waters. Many cities use rivers as the source of their drinking water, and contaminants in the water increase the difficulty and expense of treating the water for drinking water use. The Clean Water Act requires municipalities to treat sewage before it is discharged and to control contaminated stormwater discharges, but many municipalities are not complying with these requirements. EPA’s enforcement efforts in recent years have resulted in agreements by many cities to remedy these problems, but the problem remains in many other cities. This National Enforcement Initiative will 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.
Preventing Animal Waste from Contaminating Surface and Ground Waters
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are agricultural operations where animals live in a confined environment. CAFOs can contain large numbers of animals, feed, manure, dead animals and production operations on a small land area. The animals generate a large amount of manure, which typically is held in lagoons or spread on nearby fields. If not properly controlled, manure can overflow from lagoons or run off from the fields into nearby surface waters or seep into ground water, carrying disease-causing pathogens, nutrients, or other contaminants into the water. This contaminates both surface waters and ground waters that may be used as drinking water sources and harms fish and other aquatic species in surface waters. Several studies have found high concentrations of CAFOs in areas with low income and non-white populations. This is typical in many rural areas of the country where livestock facilities are located. Children in these populations may be particularly susceptible to potential adverse health effects through exposure to contaminated surface waters or drinking water from contaminated ground water sources. The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of these pollutants into surface waters, and EPA’s regulations require larger CAFOs to have permits (which impose control requirements) if the waste produced by animals on the farm will run off into surface waters. However, many CAFOs are not complying with these requirements. Therefore, EPA will continue and strengthen its enforcement focus on these facilities. For FY2011-13, OECA will focus primarily on existing large and medium CAFOs identified as discharging without a permit.
Cutting Toxic Air Pollution that Affects Communities’ Health
In 1990 Congress identified 187 hazardous air pollutants that present significant threats to human health. These pollutants are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects, such as reproductive or birth defects. This threat may be particularly important for communities with disproportionate exposure to environmental risks and those with greater concentrations of sensitive populations, including urban minority and low-income communities. The Clean Air Act and EPA’s regulations impose strict emission control requirements (known as “Maximum Available Control Technology” or “MACT”) for these pollutants, which are emitted by a wide range of industrial and commercial facilities. For FY2011-13, EPA will use a national enforcement initiative approach to focus on excess emissions caused by facilities’ failure to comply with EPA’s leak detection and repair requirements and restrictions on flaring, and to address excess emissions during start-up, shutdown and malfunction events. OECA will partner with EPA’s Office of Air and Office of Research and Development on this effort, and will give particular emphasis to problems affecting local communities that are disproportionately impacted by pollution from multiple sources.
Reducing Widespread Air Pollution from the Largest Sources, especially the Coal-Fired Utility, Cement, Glass, and Acid Sectors
The New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements of the Clean Air Act require certain large industrial facilities to install state-of-the-art air pollution controls when they build new facilities or make “significant modifications” to existing facilities. However, many industries have not complied with these requirements, leading to excessive emissions of air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants can be carried long distances and can have significant adverse effects on human health, including asthma, respiratory diseases and premature death. These effects may be particularly significant for communities with disproportionate exposure to environmental risks and vulnerable populations, including children. In recent years EPA has made considerable progress in reducing this excessive pollution by bringing enforcement actions against large refineries, coal-fired power plants, cement manufacturing facilities, sulfuric and nitric acid manufacturing facilities and glass manufacturing facilities. However, more work remains to be done to bring these sectors into compliance with the Clean Air Act and protect communities burdened with harmful air pollution. Therefore EPA will continue this work as a National Enforcement Initiative for FY2011-13.
Reducing Pollution from Mineral Processing Operations
Mining and mineral processing facilities generate more toxic and hazardous waste than any other industrial sector, based on EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory. Many of these facilities have impacted surrounding communities and continue to pose high risk to human health and the environment. For example, 95 mining and mineral processing sites are on the Superfund National Priorities List and more sites are being added every year, including operating facilities. EPA has spent over $2.4 billion to address the human health and environmental threats to communities, such as exposure to asbestos and lead poisoning in children, as a result of mining and mineral processing. In some cases, EPA had to relocate families because of these threats, especially those to children in low income communities. EPA has inspected 65 mining and mineral processing sites that pose significant risk to communities and found many to be in serious non-compliance with hazardous waste and other environmental laws. Contamination of groundwater and potable water has occurred at many sites, sometimes requiring alternative drinking water supplies or removal of lead-contaminated soil from residential yards. In other cases, toxic spills into waterways from mining and mineral processing caused massive fish kills and impacted the livelihood of low income communities. Some workers at mining and mineral processing facilities have been exposed to spills and mismanagement of toxic and hazardous waste. EPA will continue its enforcement initiative to bring these facilities into compliance with the law and protect the environment and nearby communities.
Assuring Energy Extraction Sector Compliance with Environmental Laws
As the nation expands its search for new forms and sources of energy, there is an urgent need to assure that we develop “clean energy” sources that protect our air, water and land. Some energy extraction activities, such as new techniques for oil and gas extraction and coal mining, pose a risk of pollution of air, surface waters and ground waters if not properly controlled. For example, an unprecedented acceleration of oil and gas leasing and development has led to a significant rise in the level of air pollution throughout the intermountain West. Drilling activities have led to concerns about ground water pollution and the safety of drinking water supplies in various parts of the country. To address these emerging problems, EPA will develop an initiative to assure that energy extraction activities are complying with federal requirements to prevent pollution of our air, water and land. This initiative will be undertaken in particular areas of the country where energy extraction activities are concentrated, and the focus and nature of our enforcement activities will vary with the type of activity and pollution problem presented.