The Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act was enacted to protect the quality of our
nation's waterways. In creating this legislation, Congress initially
intended to eliminate all pollution discharges into our waterways.
Unfortunately, this goal has not been realized. Instead, under
the Act, industries and municipalities are allowed to discharge
pollutants into the waters of the state under a program called
the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
Under this program, an industry or municipality can receive
a permit to discharge specific amounts of pollutants. The
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has
been delegated the authority for setting and enforcing NPDES
discharge permit limits by the federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). NPDES permits are up for renewal every five
years. Interested citizens can comment on the permit limits
and, in some cases, the FDEP holds a public hearing to hear
citizen concerns. Permits may be appealed within 30 days of
their issuance.
NPDES permit holders are required to submit a monthly Discharge
Monitoring Report (DMR) on their discharge. It is self-reported.
Florida does not charge a fee for discharging pollutants into
our waterways but the state can assess fines and penalties
for permittees who exceed their permit limits. Failure to
file a DMR or falsifying a report can also result in a fine.
We are continuing to work to ensure FDEP accurately reports
to the Apalachicola River and Bay as "Impaired Waters"
under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, and accordingly
gives priority to these waters for an early and effective
cleanup effort.
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