Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Involving the Federal, State and local governments
• EPA HQ
• EPA Regions
• DOJ
• State Water
• State AGs
• District Attorneys
• Sewer Districts
• Municipals
• Counties
Greg V. Arthur, US EPA Region 9, San Francisco, California, USA
EPA Environmental Engineer
EPA Region 9, Clean Water Act Compliance Office
• Sewage Treatment
• Industrial Wastewater
• Municipal / State Audits
• Civil Enforcement
inspections / audits
administrative orders
judicial settlements
• Criminal Enforcement
investigations
judicial trials
local sewer
district guys
Federal EPA
regional guy
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Mostly Above Board
• Little corruption
• Diffused power
• Defined compliance
achievable
clear pathways
measurable
consistent
• Open access to
records
batch industrial wastewater treatment unit
for oil and toxic shipyard process waters
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
National Standards
• Best-AvailableTechnology
treatment (BAT)
• BAT defined for
most high-strength
wastewaters
• The end result has
been widespread
treatment
activated sludge aeration tanks at a
municipal sewage treatment plant
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Broad Public Support
• clean air
• clean water
• unspoiled lands
• getting rid of
toxic dumps
• wildlife protection
• The public benefits
but does not bear
the costs directly
industrial wastewater treatment unit for
toxic metals and acids at a plating
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
But, no broad agreement on the value
of environmental
protection by those
who are regulated
So … what motivates
dischargers to
comply with water
pollution laws?
facultative lagoon for organics destruction
and nitrogen capture at an animal
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Level Playing Field
• national standards
• national enforcement policies
• recovery of the
economic benefit
of non-compliance
• states / locals must
be as stringent
• political independence
deep shaft bioreactors with dissolved air
flotation of solids from cheese wastes
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Protection of
Public Investment
• domestic sewers
• storm sewers
• sewage treatment
• water supplies
• irrigation districts
• landfills
metal cleaning and plating wastewaters at
a faucet company captured for off-hauling
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Data-driven and
Predictable
• compliance determined by sampling
• national guidelines
for test methods
• national policy:
not sampling is
equal to a failure
to meet standards
biotower preceding activated sludge contact
at a municipal sewage treatment plant
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
Most work done by
state / local agencies
• delegation of
authorities
• partial national
funding for states
• national oversight
• national reporting
• mandated
requirements
rotating-drum electrowinning silver recovery
for a movie film processing plant in California
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Reasons for effective environmental enforcement in the US
• Little
As
a result,
corruption
• National
Most
compliance
standards
• Broad
is
achieved
public
through
support
• Level playing
voluntary
compliance.
field
• Protection
Some
is achieved
of
through
Public investment
administrative
• Data-driven and
enforcement.
Use
Predictable
of governmental
• State through
power
delegation
courts
• Locally
is
rarely necessary.
mandated
control room for a sewage treatment plant
owned by a small city, under a State permit
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Some weaknesses in environmental enforcement in the US
• Data management
• Governmental
Sources of Pollution
Federal installations
State agencies
City utilities
• Developing State
capability
• National goals
• New technologies
chemically-aided de-emulsion and oil water
separation unit for oily ships bilge waters
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
Arizona copper mine – smelter, concentrator, open pit mining,
heap leaching, solvent extraction / electrowinning, rod plant
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
Pinal Creek
Old Webster Lake
Tailings
Mining Area
Heap Leach
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
• Mining started
100 years ago
Pre 1989 – artist’s rendition
• Acidic drainage
impounded in
Webster Lake
• 1.4 billion gals
• Leaked through
underground
stream gravel
• pH ~ 2.0
Old Webster Lake – Dry since 1989
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
Perennial Flow
14 stream miles
LPC Wellfield and
Slurry Barrier Wall
LPC Ground Water
Treatment Plant
Lower Pinal Creek
Webster Lake
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
• Leading edge
captured and
pumped to the
LPC Ground
Water Treatment Plant
• All underground
stream flows
intercepted
LPC Wellfield and Slurry Barrier Wall
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
• Two-stage
metals precipitation at pHs
of 7 and 10
• Floc / settling
• Tertiary filters
• $2 million per
year to operate
• 30% total cost
of mine closure
Lower Pinal Creek Water Treatment Facility
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
• Restoration
of the creek
• No surfacing of
acidic or
metals-bearing
ground waters
• Salts are still
flushing out of
stream bed
Discharge from LPC Water Treatment Plant
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Cooperative Discharger
• 1983 CAAG Study
• 1987 EPA Order
• 1988 USGS Study
• 1990 Arizona Ground
Water Permit
• 1992 Arizona WQARF
“state superfund”
• 1997 Discharger Study
• 2000 NPDES permit
• 2007 NPDES renewal
Pinal Creek downstream
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Case Study – Uncooperative Discharger
California job-shop electroplater discharging to a
municipal sewer system under municipal permit
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Warehouse
Plating Shop
Plating Shop Wastewater
Treatment
Plating Shop
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
treatment
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
concealed standpipe #1
dye bypassed
treatment
standpipe cover
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
treatment
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
treatment
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
concealed
under#2
concealed
standpipe
pump assembly
dye bypassed
treatment
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Cr 0.9 mg/l
Zn 18.0 mg/l
Cd 1.7 mg/l
treatment
Cr 1.0 mg/l
Zn 20.7 mg/l
Cd 0.8 mg/l
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
treatment
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
best-available-technology
• cyanide destruction
• chromium reduction
• metals precipitation
• flocculation
• settling
• sand filtration
• filter press and dryer
adequate capacity
segregated treatmen
batch treatment of spents
• acids
• cyanide-bearing
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
filter
press
sample
point
dryer
cyanide destruct
influent wastewaters
sludge hold
acid-sump gen-sump cn-sump
chrome
reduxn
metals
precip
cyanide
destruct
floc
clarifier
sand
filt
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
filter
press
sample
point
dryer
cyanide destruct
influent wastewaters
sludge hold
acid-sump gen-sump cn-sump
chrome
reduxn
metals
precip
cyanide
destruct
floc
clarifier
sand
filt
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
diversion valve
closed
discharge line
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
diversion valve
open
sewer
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
filter
press
sample
point
dryer
cyanide destruct
influent wastewaters
sludge hold
acid-sump gen-sump cn-sump
chrome
reduxn
metals
precip
cyanide
destruct
floc
clarifier
sand
filt
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
diversion valve closed
Cd – 0.7 mg/l
Zn – 1.3 mg/l
diversion valve open
Cd – 48.0 mg/l
Zn – 2490. mg/l
CN – 18.0 mg/l
Pb -2.07 mg/l
Cr – 67.6 mg/l
Cu – 10.9 mg/l
Ni – 2.36 mg/l
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
1983 – quarterly local inspections
1993 – EPA audit of local program
1999 – informant tip to FBI
2000 – joint search under warrant
2001 – local daily sampling
2002 – Federal criminal settlement
Enforcement of the Clean Water Act
Questions or Comments
• EPA HQ
• EPA Regions
• DOJ
• State Water
• State AGs
• District Attorneys
• Sewer Districts
• Municipals
• Counties
Greg V. Arthur, US EPA Region 9, San Francisco, California, USA