Executive summary 8 I. Introduction 26 II. State government capability 28
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
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- Clean Water Act
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)(For a description of some of the funding sources available from the EPA, please refer to the Funding Sources for Mitigation section of this Capability Assessment). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects and enhances our environment today and for future generations to the fullest extent possible under the laws enacted by Congress. The Agency’s mission is to control and abate pollution in the areas of air, water, solid waste, pesticides, radiation, and toxic substances. Its mandate is to mount an integrated, coordinated attack on environmental pollution in cooperation with State and local governments. The EPA has jurisdiction over many of the Nations wetlands, and administers a permitting system for development, alteration, filling, or draining wetlands. Clean Water ActThe Clean Water Act (CWA) is administered by the U.S. EPA, and contains several key programs and provisions. These include a shared system of federal-state control of point source pollution, local stormwater management, a nonpoint program, restrictions on wetland dredging and filling (Section 404), and the NEP. (For a description of state administration of these federal programs, see the discussion of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the State Government section of the Capability Assessment). The centerpiece of the CWA’s pollution prevention strategy is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which is administered by the EPA. Under the NPDES program, a permit is required from the EPA, or an authorized state for the discharge of any point source or end-of-pipe pollutants into U.S. waters. Urban stormwater runoff, often highly polluted, is carried by storm sewer systems and discharged into streams and rivers without treatment. Because of stormwater’s potential effects on water quality, the CWA requires that local governments obtain an NPDES permit for stormwater discharges. The NPDES Phase I stormwater permit program, created in 1990, applied only to communities or counties of 100,000 or more population, and 11 categories of industrial activity, including construction activity that disturbs 5 or more acres of land. In the winter of 1999, the EPA promulgated NPDES phase II, which extended the permit requirements to all small stormwater systems not covered by phase I, and reduces the size of regulated construction activities to include projects between 1 and 5 acres of land disturbance. Local governments are required under phase II to develop a stormwater management program consisting of six elements:
Section 319 of the CWA is the nonpoint source (NPS) program. States are required to develop management programs to address NPS runoff, including the use of best management practices (i.e., detention or retention ponds, swales, and check dams). The NPS program authorizes grants to assist the states in implementing their management programs. One of the most important sections of the federal CWA is Section 404, which represents the cornerstone of federal efforts to protect wetlands. Specifically, Section 404 restricts the discharge of dredge and fill materials into US waters, requiring permit approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or in some cases from the state. The Corps must approve, deny, or modify such permit requests consistent with its own public interest review and the Section 404(b)(I) guidelines promulgated by the EPA. The EPA also has final veto authority over the issuance of 404 permits. Under the guidelines, the Corps can issue a permit only where it concludes that there are no practicable alternative sites for the proposed use (no water-dependent uses are assumed to have practicable alternatives) and where impacts are mitigated to the maximum extent. Mitigation requirements can include the creation of new wetlands or the enhancement or restoration of degraded wetlands. (From Beatley, et al. 2002. An Introduction to Coastal Zone Management. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, requires federal agencies to analyze proposed actions for potential impacts to the human and natural environments. Agencies must define the purpose of and the need for the proposed project, develop a range of alternatives that fulfill the purpose of and need for the project, and evaluate the potential impact of those alternatives on the environment. NEPA also requires the agencies to provide opportunities for the public to participate in the decision making process. Studies called Environmental Assessments (EA), Findings of No Significant Impacts (FONSI), and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) are conducted to comply with NEPA requirements. An EA is prepared to assist the agency in deciding whether or not an EIS is required. If it is determined that an EIS is not required, a FONSI is prepared. An EIS is prepared when it is decided that an action is likely to cause a significant impact on the environment. NEPA is a policy act, setting course for government action, but it lacks the regulatory muscle of other federal environmental statutes. It requires an assessment of the impact of a proposed action, but does not go any further, even when the impact is horrendous. Authority to prevent an action must be found in some place other than NEPA. As a policy act, however, NEPA has succeeded as an information dissemination device, forcing the documentation of impacts. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (USGS) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is an independent fact-finding agency that collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues and problems. Programs carried out by the USGS include: Biologic Informatics Coastal and Marine Geology Cooperative Topographic Mapping Cooperative Water Program Earth Surface Dynamics Earthquake Hazards Energy Resources Geographic Analysis Geomagnetism Global Seismic Networks Hydrologic Networks Hydrologic Research and Development Land Remote Sensing Landslide Hazards Mineral Resources National Cooperative Geological Map National Streamflow Information National Water Quality Assessment State Water Resources Research Institute
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