Billions Could Be Saved Through Waivers for Coastal Wastewater Treatment Plants
CED-81-68
Published: May 22, 1981. Publicly Released: May 22, 1981.
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Highlights
The Clean Water Act of 1977 allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to grant waivers to publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities so that thay can discharge primary treated municipal waste into the marine environment when it can be shown that costly secondary treatment is not necessary. Many communities have been discouraged from applying for secondary treatment waivers because of legislative constraints and restrictive EPA administration of the waiver provision. Billions of dollars in federal, state, and local funds could be saved if coastal communities discharging primary municipal wastewaters into the marine environment did not have to build costly and unnecessary secondary treatment facilities.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress should amend the Clean Water Act of 1977 to allow for a continuous secondary treatment waiver process for all coastal communities where the communities have shown that the risk of environmental damage is minimal. In particular, Congress should (1) eliminate the requirement that treatment facilities must have an existing marine outfall to qualify for a waiver; (2) remove the statutory deadline for filing waiver applications and provide for a continuous waiver process; and (3) indicate that the waiver provision is not intended to preclude communities already achieving secondary treatment from obtaining waivers in cases where primary treatment is both cost effective and environmentally sound. |
Closed – Implemented
|
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should, if Congress takes action to allow for a continuous waiver process, experiment with ways of providing technical help to small coastal communities so that they can apply for secondary treatment waivers. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Congress amended the Clean Water Act to extend the waiver application period for one year, ending December 29, 1982. As this deadline has passed, and EPA has taken no substantial action to adopt the recommendation, GAO is dropping it.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should, if Congress takes action to allow for a continuous waiver process, require step 1 facilities planning grant applicants for sewage treatment facilities in coastal areas to consider discharging primary wastes into marine waters as an alternative to secondary treatment. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Congress amended the Clean Water Act to extend the waiver application period for one year, ending December 29, 1982. As this deadline has passed, and EPA has taken no substantial action on the recommendation, GAO is dropping it.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should, if Congress takes action to allow for a continuous waiver process, revise the waiver application process to obtain a more stratified approach that differentiates between communities based on the population served, the type of waste being discharged, and the ability of the receiving water to assimilate the wastes so that simpler application procedures are used for communities that primarily have domestic wastes and little or no industrial wastes. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Congress amended the Clean Water Act to extend the waiver application period fo one year, ending December 29, 1982. As this deadline has passed, and EPA has taken no substantive action on the recommendation, GAO is dropping it.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Administrator of EPA should revise the EPA definition of best practicable wastewater treatment technology to allow for primary discharges into marine waters for communities that have waivers. |
Closed – Implemented
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
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Environmental impact statementsEnvironmental legislationEnvironmental policiesFederal fundsstate relationsIndustrial facilitiesWastewater managementWastewater treatmentWater pollution controlWastewater treatment plants