There are dozens of laws, regulations and ordinances that have been adopted by government bodies to protect water quality in the streams, rivers and lakes where you live. These laws are promulgated at the federal, state and local levels. The following information provides a brief description of some of the laws that affect the waterways in your watershed:
Federal Laws
The Clean Water Act
State Laws
The Georgia Water Quality Control Act
Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act
Metropolitan River Protection Act
Local Ordinances
Federal Laws
The Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) was passed by Congress in 1972, in response to the nearly unchecked dumping of pollution into our waterways. At the time, two-thirds of the country's lakes, rivers and coastal waters had become unsafe for fishing or swimming. Untreated sewage was being dumped into open water.
The goal of the CWA was to reduce pollution in all U.S. waters to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nation's waters." The law called for "zero discharge of pollutants into navigable waters by 1985, and fishable and swimmable waters by 1983. Although the CWA has been instrumental in improving the health of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, by stopping billions of pounds of pollution from fouling the water, it is far from reaching its goal of returning all waters to being safe for fishing and swimming.
The CWA established the basic structure for regulating water pollution in the United States. It gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The CWA also set water quality standards for contaminants in surface waters, and made it unlawful for anyone to discharge any pollutant from a point source into the water without a restrictive permit.
In many states, such as Georgia, the authority to administer the CWA in the state, including the issuance of permits pursuant to the CWA, has been delegated to the state. In Georgia, the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources administers the CWA and issues permits under it.
You can access the full text of the CWA online, or you can download a summary.
State Laws
The Georgia Water Quality Control Act
The Georgia Water Quality Control Act provides the principal requirements under which the state implements the federal Clean Water Act, including permitting programs. The Water Quality Control Act also establishes water quality standards for every body of water in the state.
The water quality standards include a designated use for each water body, which describes and defines the maximum levels of pollutants that may exist in the water, and an "anti-degradation" statement, which prohibits high quality waters from being degraded. Generally, the standards of NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits issued to municipalities, industries and other dischargers are sufficiently stringent to ensure that state water quality standards will not be violated by the proposed wastewater discharge.
Printed copies of Georgia’s Rules and Regulations for Water Quality Control are usually available free of charge at the water protection branch at: EPD (404-362-2680), the state attorney general’s office, and the EPA regional office.
Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act
Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act (GESA) was passed in 1975 with the goal of implementing a statewide program to protect Georgia's waters from soil erosion and sediment deposition, primarily originating from land disturbing activities (clearing, grading, and other construction-related activities).
GESA has been amended many times, most recently, to modify the law to more closely mirror the provision for the management of construction site stormwater required under the Construction Stormwater General Permit.
Metropolitan River Protection Act
The Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA), O.C.G.A. 12-5-440, et seq., was passed in 1973 to provide special protection to the Chattahoochee River based on the growing threats to the quality of this drinking water supply source. MRPA established a 2000-foot corridor on both banks of the Chattahoochee between Buford Dam and Peachtree Creek, which was extended to the southern limits of Douglas and Fulton Counties in 1998. MRPA also required the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) to develop and adopt a plan to protect this river corridor from the negative effects of development, such as erosion and sedimentation, increased storm water runoff and the pollutants in runoff from lawns, driveways and parking lots.
The Chattahoochee Corridor Plan (Plan) was adopted by ARC and sets standards for development in the corridor. MRPA requires all land-disturbing activity to be reviewed under the Plan. ARC reviews proposed construction, building, clearing or landscaping activities under Plan standards and issues findings based on the reviews. Local governments issue approvals based on ARC findings, monitor corridor development and enforce MRPA and the Plan.
Local Ordinances
All local governments have ordinances and/or regulations that may help maintain the water quality of your local streams. For example, many counties have regulations that govern zoning, septic tank maintenance and activities that affect erosion and sedimentation. In some instances, local ordinances may be more stringent than state law. These ordinances and regulations can generally be found on your city or county website.
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