Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is issuing an Interpretative Statement addressing whether the Clean Water Act ("the CWA" or "the Act") National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit program applies to releases of a pollutant from a point source to groundwater. This Interpretative Statement reflects the EPA's consideration of the public comments received in response to its February 20, 2018 Federal Register notice, as summarized immediately below. Informed by those comments and based on a holistic analysis of the statute, its text, structure, and legislative history, the Agency concludes that the CWA is best read as excluding all releases of pollutants from a point source to groundwater from NPDES program coverage, regardless of a hydrologic connection between the groundwater and jurisdictional surface water. The Interpretive Statement provides the EPA's full analysis and rationale supporting its interpretation and is available below and at https://www.epa.gov/npdes/releases-point- source-groundwater. Concurrently with issuing its interpretation of the CWA, the Agency is soliciting additional public input regarding what may be needed to provide further clarity and regulatory certainty on this issue.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Environmental Protection Agency 40 CFR Part 122 [EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0166; FRL-9991-72-OW] AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of availability of interpretive statement and request for comment. SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is issuing an Interpretative Statement addressing whether the Clean Water Act (“the CWA” or “the Act”) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit program applies to releases of a pollutant from a point source to groundwater. This Interpretative Statement reflects the EPA's consideration of the public comments received in response to its February 20, 2018 Federal Register notice, as summarized immediately below. Informed by those comments and based on a holistic analysis of the statute, its text, structure, and legislative history, the Agency concludes that the CWA is best read as excluding all releases of pollutants from a point source to groundwater from NPDES program coverage, regardless of a hydrologic connection between the groundwater and jurisdictional surface water. The Interpretive Statement provides the EPA's full analysis and rationale supporting its interpretation and is available below and at https://www.epa.gov/​npdes/​releases-point-source-groundwater . Concurrently with issuing its interpretation of the CWA, the Agency is soliciting additional public input regarding what may be needed to provide further clarity and re…
Citation: 84 FR 16810
