For a long period of time, U.S. EPA exempted stormwater from coverage under the Clean Water Act. This was largely due to the fact that EPA had enough on to do in simply regulating discharges from traditional point sources of water pollution. In 1987, Congress gave EPA the authority to regulate stormwater discharges from "presumptively
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Sewer District’s Stormwater Program
After five years of litigation, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its decision today in Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) v. Bath et. al., upholding the District’s authority to implement a storm water management program. The Supreme Court’s decision overturns an prior ruling by the Appellate Court which had held NEORSD did not have
How Easy is it for Cities to Re-Open their CSO/SSO Consent Decrees?
For over a decade, U.S. EPA has embarked on a national enforcement strategy regarding combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from municipal wastewater treatment systems. As part of the enforcement strategy, U.S. EPA has entered a large number of federal consent decrees which establish deadlines for the elimination of CSOs/SSOs. These decrees
Ohio Supreme Court Invalidates Nearly Two Thousand Water Quality Determinations
The Ohio Supreme Court provided a major set back to the Ohio EPA efforts to establish water quality based discharge limits in its surface water discharge permits (i.e. NPDES permits). The Court determined in Fairfield County v. Nally that TMDLs must go through formal administrative rulemaking before they can be used to support discharge limits
Ohio Looks to Tighten Nutrient Regulation to Address Toxic Algae
Pardon the pun, but toxic algae has been a growing problem in Ohio. Significant issues with toxic algae have occurred in Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Marys and elsewhere. In fact, Ohio EPA recently added a new feature to their webpage in which you can track and identify toxic algae issues around the state:
Ohio Continues its Efforts to Address Algal Blooms in Lake Erie
Algal blooms in Lake Erie have resurfaced as a major problem in recent years. Large algal blooms can even be viewed from satellite images. (Photo: Courtesy of NOAA)
Considerable effort and funding has been directed at studying the causes of the problem. Efforts are now under way to try and address the issue. One
Legislation Introduced to Implement Great Lakes Compact following Governor Kasich Veto
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Representative Wachtmann has introduced H.B 473 which will implement Ohio’s regulatory program under the Great Lakes Compact. H.B. 473 follows last summer’s veto by Governor Kasich of H.B. 231 which was criticized by environmental groups and former Governor Taft and Senator Voinovich as not protective enough of Lake Erie.
The Great Lakes Compact was
NPDES General Permit for Industrial Activities – Feds and States Head toward Numeric Limits in Storm Water NPDES Permits
Traditionally, EPA has regulated storm water differently than point source discharges. Regulators recognized that it was easier to install new technology to reduce pollutant loading from a specific industrial process with a specific "end of pipe" discharge point. Storm water was much more unpredictable.
Therefore, U.S. EPA regulated storm water using general NPDES permits without specific
Sewer District’s Green Infrastructure Program an Opportunity to Soften Impact of New Fee on Businesses
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) has entered into a settlement with U.S. EPA to fix its combined sewer overflow issues (CSOs). Included in the settlement is a provision which requires NEORSD to spend $42 million in eight years to eliminate 44 million gallons of storm water from entering its sewer system. This portion
U.S. EPA to Start All Over on Numeric Limits for Construction Site Stormwater
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For over three years, U.S. EPA had been moving toward a seismic shift in how it regulated stormwater run-off from construction sites. For the first time, U.S. EPA tried to impose a numeric permit limit on the turbidity of water (sediment mixed with water) that leaves construction sites following rain events. EPA ‘s efforts are