Article by Jon Simon, Matthew Love, Sam Kalen,
Jeff Winmill, Tyson Kade, and Ashley Garber
Van Ness Feldman's Public Lands and Natural Resources Update
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POLICY
EPA Issues New Clean Water Act Enforcement Action Plan
On October 15, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency
("EPA") issued a new Clean Water Act Enforcement Action
Plan ("Action Plan"). This Action Plan seeks to revamp
EPA's enforcement of the Clean Water Act ("CWA") to:
1) target enforcement efforts to the most serious violations; 2)
strengthen oversight of state permitting and enforcement programs;
and 3) improve transparency in order to "increase pressure for
better compliance performance." As it works to implement these
goals, EPA will take certain short-term actions to address water
quality issues, such as
