STATES URGE EPA WATER COMPLIANCE FOCUS GIVEN ENFORCEMENT FLAWS

摘要

State officials are urging EPA to shift its focus on Clean Water Act (CWA) enforcement away from strictly penalizing industry infractions towards compliance efforts that ensure industry follows the law, as well as redefining the agency's definition of noncompliance to focus strictly on violations that impair water quality. The push by the states follows a number of high-profile developments on CWA enforcement, including recent news reports finding significant noncompliance and poor state enforcement of the water law; the agency's call for comment on its upcoming national enforcement priorities for fiscal years 2011-13; and the agency's ongoing effort to craft an "action nlan" for imnrovine state and federal CWA enforcement.