Nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution regulations are environmental regulations that restrict or limit water pollution from diffuse or nonpoint effluent sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas in a river catchments or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. In the United States, governments have taken a number of legal and regulatory approaches to controlling NPS effluent. Nonpoint water pollution sources include, for example, leakage from underground storage tanks, storm water runoff, atmospheric deposition of contaminants, and golf course, agricultural, and forestry runoff.
Nonpoint sources are the most significant single source of water pollution in the United States, accounting for almost half of all water pollution, and agricultural runoff is the single largest source of nonpoint source water pollution. This water pollution has a number of detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Unlike point source pollution, nonpoint source pollution arises from numerous and diverse sources, making identification, monitoring, and regulation more complex.
Basis for controls and regulations The basis for nonpoint source pollution regulation is the negative direct and indirect effects on both human health and the environment caused by the pollutants in NPS effluent.
Human health Human health is most directly affected when polluted water is ingested into the body. Nonpoint source pollution can often have toxic contaminants and chemicals present in the water. Additionally, there can be both bacteria and viruses (aka pathogens) found in the water.
Toxic contaminants and chemicals Effluent from nonpoint sources may include toxic contaminates and chemical compounds including heavy metals like lead, mercury, zinc, and cadmium, organics like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other substances resistant to breakdown.Penn State University. Pennsylvania Lake Erie NEMO. "Nonpoint Source Pollution." . There are many health effects associated with many of these toxic substances. Lead – can cause damage to the nervous connections as well as blood and brain disorders. Specific diseases include nephropathy, colic-like abdominal pains, and anemia. Mercury – Studies have shown effects such as chronic effects including tremors, impaired cognitive skills, and sleep disturbances. Acute exposure has shown to cause chest pain, dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, impairment of pulmonary function, and evidence of damage to the lung tissue. Zinc – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that zinc damages nerve receptors in the nose, which can cause loss of the sense of smell. Additionally, zinc toxicosis can occur in high doses of zinc. Cadmium – Exposure to cadmium-containing substances can result initially in metal fume fever but can progress to chemical lung damage, pulmonary edema, and even death. PCBs – People exposed to high levels of PCBs can exhibit skin conditions, such as rashes and liver damage. Common symptoms include dermal and ocular lesions, irregular menstrual cycles and lowered immune responses.Polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo...[Environ Res. 2001] - PubMed ResultPCB Baby Studies Part 2 Other symptoms include fatigue, headaches, coughs, and unusual skin sores. PAHs – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified seven PAH compounds as probable human carcinogens: benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene, and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene.
Pathogens Pathogens are bacteria and viruses that can be found in water and cause diseases in humans. Pathogens found in contaminated runoff may include: Cryptosporidium parvum – Primary symptoms of C. parvum infection are diarrhoea. Other symptoms can include anorexia, nausea/vomiting and abdominal pain."Cryptosporidiosis." Laboratory Identification of Parasites of Public Health Concern. CDC. 5 Sept 2007. <http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Cryptosporidiosis.htm > Giardia lamblia – Symptoms of infection include diarrhea, malaise, excessive gas, steatorrhoea, epigastric pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diminished interest in food, and weight loss. Salmonella – Symptoms are usually gastrointestinal. This can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea with mucus, headache, and fatigue. Parasitic worms (helminths) – Conditions associated with intestinal helminth infection include intestinal obstruction, insomnia, vomiting, weakness, and stomach pains.
Environment The environment is impacted by nonpoint source pollution through the input of sediment and nutrients from multiple sources directly into the water system.
Toxic contaminants and chemicals Toxic chemicals and contaminants, like motor oil, fuel, and industrial facility waste can enter the water system by storm water runoff. These chemicals, many of which can contain heavy metals, can enter the water system and coat the species present in the water.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Washington D.C. "Nonpoint Source Pollution" September 2007. This can lead to death of the aquatic organisms which can cause increases in the amount of nutrients in the system from the decaying animals.
Sediment Sediment or suspended sediment in the water is soil that would not normally be present in the water column. When the sediment is suspended up in the water column, it blocks out the sunlight which is needed by bottom dwelling plants. If these plants, called submerged aquatic vegetation, are deprived of sunlight for a significant amount of time, they will die. These plants are a significant source of food for many aquatic organisms as well as trap oxygen and sediment. When there is an excess of dying plants in an aquatic ecosystem, it can lead to eutophic or hypoxic conditions in the water body.
Nutrients The primary nutrients found in water due to nonpoint source pollution are nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers. An influx of these nutrients can lead to eutrophication within the water. This is when there is an excess of nutrients in water, thus leading to an explosion in the growth of algae. The algae can cover the lake and block sunlight from reaching the organisms below, typically killing them.
Legal framework Some aspects of NPS water pollution are regulated at the federal, state, and local level, but to a lesser extent than point sources. The pollution persists and remains a significant problem in many watersheds. NPS water pollution comes from numerous and diverse sources, and control measures are expensive to implement. State and local governments are generally responsible for implementing NPS regulations. Coordination among localities can be difficult, and, furthermore, localities often lack the incentive to rigorously enforce NPS regulations because their NPS pollution is exported downriver, where other towns and cities must deal with the consequences.
Federal laws There are two principal federal laws effecting NPS water pollution: the Clean Water Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act. In addition, EPA's "Clean Water Action Plan" (2009) outlines a strategy for enforcing CWA requirements, some of which are applicable to nonpoint sources.
Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) was the first federal law designed to directly address water pollution. The CWA has been amended many times, but the 1972 amendments provide the core statutory basis for the regulation of point source water pollution and created the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The 1972 amendments were also the first instance where Congress acknowledged the problem of NPS water pollution by requiring the states to prepare area-wide water quality management plans under Section 208.United States. Clean Water Act. Section 208. "Areawide Waste Treatment Management." Congress passed additional amendments to the CWA in 1987 that address NPS water pollution. This section will chronologically address the parts of the CWA that regulate NPS water pollution.
Defining NPS water pollution in the CWA The definition of NPS water pollution is open to interpretation. However, federal regulation under the CWA provides a specific legal definition for the term. A "nonpoint source" is defined as any source of water pollution that is not a "point source" as defined in CWA section 502(14). That definition states: "The term 'point source' means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture."
There are important differences between point source pollution and NPS pollution. There are many more nonpoint sources than there are point sources, and nonpoint sources are less discrete, or distinct, than point sources. Furthermore, nonpoint source discharges are not always easily observed, and monitoring nonpoint pollution can be costly. NPS pollution will vary over time and space, based on different weather and geographic conditions. These factors make nonpoint pollution more difficult to regulate than point sources.
Section 208 Section 208 was Congress' first attempt to address NPS water pollution, and it directed states and local governments to create management plans that identified future waste treatment needs and identify and control NPS water pollution. The section notes that any areawide management plan must discuss how to identify "agriculturally and silviculturally related nonpoint sources of pollution," and "runoff from manure disposal areas, and from land used for livestock and crop production." Section 208 is in essence a federal funding mechanism for state programs that attempt to control NPS pollution, but its meager funding was completely used up by 1980. Section 208 was widely considered a failure because it did little to actually reduce NPS pollution. It created a voluntary provision that directs states to study whether regulatory controls are needed. The law left decisions to the states about whether to regulate NPS water pollution. There was no process or mechanism to develop standards or enforce them.
Section 319 After section 208's failure to control NPS water pollution, in 1987 Congress passed the Water Quality Act which included a new section 319 to address the problem of nonpoint sources.CWA section 319. Nonpoint source management programs. This provision, also non-regulatory, authorizes EPA to fund demonstration programs and provide technical assistance to state and local governments. Some critics have argued that section 319 provides little improvement over section 208. The section requires states to identify water bodies that cannot meet water-quality standards without control of nonpoint sources. The states must then identify best management practices (BMPs) and measures for those impaired sources, along with an implementation plan. The EPA approves these plans, and if a state fails to develop a plan, the EPA must do so for the state. However, there are a number of problems with these provisions. Funding to develop the plans has been scarce. The section does not actually place limits on NPS pollution, and states are not even required implement the plans they create. Another problem with 319 (and 208) is that there is no enforcement mechanism In Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA (1990), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that "Section 319 does not require states to penalize nonpoint source polluters who fail to adopt best management practices; rather it provides for grants to encourage the adoption of such practices."Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA. 915 F.2d 1314, 1318 (9th Cir. 1990).