News Releases from Headquarters›Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

EPA Finalizes Action Providing No New Federal Requirements for Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Spill Prevention

WASHINGTON (August 22, 2019) — Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a final action establishing no new regulatory requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 311(j)(1)(C) authority for hazardous substance discharge prevention.

“EPA’s analysis concluded that current requirements for hazardous substance discharge prevention are protective of human health and the environment and, therefore, additional requirements are unnecessary,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Protection of our nation’s waterways is a top priority for EPA, and we will continue to use our many programs and tools to protect and respond to threats in our waterways.”

During the 40 years since CWA section 311(j)(1)(C) was enacted by Congress, many EPA statutory and regulatory requirements have been established to prevent and address CWA hazardous substance discharges. Based on a review of the existing EPA programs along with the frequency and impacts of reported CWA hazardous substance discharges, the agency determined the existing EPA regulatory framework meets the requirements of CWA section 311(j)(1)(C) and is serving to prevent, contain, and mitigate CWA hazardous substance discharges.

This final action complies with a consent decree addressing CWA section 311(j)(1)(C) and is based on public comment regarding EPA’s proposed approach.

For more information on the final action, please visit https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/rulemaking-preventing-hazardous-substance-spills.