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ARTICLE · 03 MAY 2019

EPA Issues Interpretive Statement On NPDES Regulation Of Groundwater

Holland & Knight
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On April 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication draft of an Interpretative Statement clarifying the application of Clean Water Act (CWA)

United StatesEnvironment
Dianne Phillips
Dianne Phillips
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Dianne R Phillips is Partner in Holland & Knight's Boston office

On April 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication draft of an Interpretative Statement clarifying the application of Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements to discharges of pollutants to groundwater. EPA concluded that releases of pollutants to groundwater are categorically excluded from the CWA's permitting requirements because Congress explicitly left regulation of discharges to groundwater to the states and to EPA under other statutory authorities. As described in prior blogs, EPA published a Request for Comment in the Federal Register seeking comments on a broad range of topics related to the question of whether the CWA NPDES permitting requirement should be used to regulate discharges of pollutants to groundwater which have a direct hydrologic connection to surface water. EPA received

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