approach pertains to the involvement of stakeholder groups in the develop-
ment and implementation of strategies for achieving and maintaining state
water quality and other environmental goals.The CWA is the foundation of surface water quality protection in the United
States today. Although it does not address the regulation of ground water or
water quantity issues, it does ensure the reduction of pollutant discharges
directly into waterways. In addition, the Act helps finance municipal waste-
water treatment facilities and manages polluted runoff. It also hopes to achieve
the broader goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and
biological integrity of the nation’s waters so as to guarantee the protection
of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and people who participate in water-related recre-
ational activities.The Act enabled the establishment of a system for granting and regulating
discharge permits called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES). This system regulates point sources that discharge pollutants into
waters of the United States. Permits are issued by state environmental agencies
and EPA regional offices. There is also a system of regulating the discharge of
dredged and fill material into jurisdictional waters of the United States, handled
by the Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404.The creation of the Act further precipitated the EPA to institute guidelines that
regulate water pollution from industry categories. These regulations have
been published for 56 categories and apply to between 35,000 and 45,000
facilities that discharge directly to the nation’s waters, as well as another
12,000 facilities that discharge into publicly-owned treatment works. They are
responsible for preventing the discharge of almost 700 billion pounds of pol-
lutants each year. The EPA has updated some categories since their initial
creation, and has also added new categories.Chapter 11: Making Your Business Processes Environmentally Friendly 205
It cost big bucks to pollute!
Together with the Environmental Protection
Agency, nine states and 13 environmental
groups filed a suit in 1999 against American
Electric Power, one of the nation’s biggest coal-
fired electricity producers, contending that the
company had violated limits set by the Clean Air
Act at 30 of 46 coal-fired units. The company
recently settled, agreeing to spend as much as
$4.6 billion to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides. It is also forking out $60
million to clean up and repair damage it is
accused of having caused to nearby parks and
waterways.
Yet another recent case involves a group of res-
idents and businesses that is suing IBM Corp.
for more than $100 million. According to the 94
plaintiffs, one of IBM’s former plants in upstate
New York has placed an entire community and
ecosystem at harm’s risk by exposing it to toxic
doses of trichloroethylene (TCE), a metal clean-
ing solvent associated with ailments, such as
kidney cancer and brain damage.