Environmentalists Charge Texas Discharge Permitting Program Violates CWA

摘要

More than 20 environmental groups are asking EPA to either force Texas to correct alleged flaws in its delegated Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting program or withdraw the state's ability to issue National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, charging that several elements of its program violate key provisions of the CWA. The Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) "program is deficient due to the failure to ensure that permit applications comply with a Tier II review, failure to ensure that effluent limits contained in permits are demonstrated to be compliant with applicable regulations and water quality standards, and Texas' failure to recognize that an injury to recreational interests is an independent and sufficient basis for judicial standing," Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Public Citizen and 17 other groups write in a Sept. 23 petition to EPA.