United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water 4303T
EPA-821-F-02-021
November 2002
Fact Sheet
Draft Strategy for
National Clean Water Industrial Regulations
Summary
EPA is announcing a draft Strategy that describes a process EPA may use to identify industries for
which effluent guidelines need to be revised or developed, in compliance with Section 304(m) of the
Clean Water Act.
Background on Effluent Guidelines
Effluent guidelines are technology-based national
regulations that control the discharge of pollutants
to surface waters and to publicly owned treatment
works (POTWs). Effluent guidelines are specific to
an industry. EPA develops effluent guidelines for
all types of industrial discharges - including
manufacturing, agricultural, and service industries.
As required by Section 304(m) of the Clean Water
Act (CWA), EPA publishes an Effluent Guidelines
Program Plan every other year to announce the
Agency's plans to develop new effluent guidelines
and revise existing ones.
Since 1992, the Plans responded to the terms of a
Consent Decree the Agency entered with Natural
Resources Defense Council, Inc., and Public
Citizen, Inc. The end of the Consent Decree in
2004 offers EPA and interested stakeholders the
chance to evaluate the existing program and to
consider how national industrial regulations can best
support the national clean water program.
Summary of Draft Strategy
The draft "Strategy for National Clean Water Act
Regulations" outlines a process that EPA proposes
to use to develop Effluent Guidelines Plans. The
process will allow EPA to identify existing effluent
guidelines the Agency should consider revising or
industrial categories for which the Agency should
consider developing new effluent guidelines.
Two overarching goals guided the development of
the draft Strategy: reducing risk to human health
and the environment and assuring transparent
decision-making. In order to accomplish the first
goal, EPA looked at the Clean Water Act and
identified four major factors for deciding if it is
appropriate to revise or develop an effluent
guideline. These are:
1) the extent to which an industry is discharging
pollutants that pose a risk to human health or
the environment;
2) whether an applicable and demonstrated
technology, process change, or pollution
prevention approach would substantially
reduce that risk;
3) the cost, performance, and affordability of the
technologies, process changes, or pollution
prevention approaches; and
4) implementation and efficiency considerations,
such as whether a current guideline is a barrier
to the use of new technologies with multi-
media benefits, or whether revising an existing
guideline to allow for in-plant "trading" of
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pollutant limits might reduce more pollution
and cost less than the current rule.
EPA would also consider other appropriate factors
under the Clean Water Act in determining whether
or not to revise or develop a guideline for an
industrial sector.
EPA's second goal is transparent decision-making.
A critical part of the proposed process is interaction
with stakeholders - industry, academia, States,
POTWs, environmental groups, and the public.
EPA hopes the Strategy will give those who are
interested an understanding of the process and the
chance to participate in decisions about how
national industrial technology-based regulations
(effluent guidelines) can best meet the needs of the
national clean water program.
EPA also hopes that stakeholders will identify
information that will help the Agency evaluate the
four factors listed above, as well as suggest other
factors and information the Agency should consider
in revising or establishing effluent guidelines.
EPA will get feedback from stakeholders by
soliciting comments in ^FederalRegister notice, by
holding a public meeting, and by meeting with
organizations who represent the groups that will
most likely be interested in the future of national
industrial clean water regulations.
EPA is looking for ways that its Strategy for
National Industrial Clean Water Regulations can
help spur the development of innovative
technologies, promote multi-media pollution
prevention, and expand the use of market-based
incentives to improve the quality of our nation's
waters.
Washington, D.C. Or you can send e-mail to:
harrigan.patricia@epa.gov. You can view or
download the draft Strategy on the Internet at:
http://epa.gov/guide/strategy/
Further Information
For additional information concerning this action,
you can contact Pat Harrigan at (202) 566-1666 at
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office
of Water, Engineering and Analysis Division
(4303T), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
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