EPA and State Progress in Administering the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program

Testimony was presented on the management of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program, which is the principal means of controlling the nation's water pollution. GAO stated that noncompliance with permit limits for both industrial and municipal wastewater dischargers remains widespread, frequent, and significant. The persistence of noncompliance compromises the water quality and related environmental benefits of the billions of dollars invested in the construction and operation of wastewater treatment facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agencies rely heavily on discharge monitoring reports (DMR's) to inform them of permit noncompliance, and not submitting or submitting incomplete DMR's could conceal serious discharge noncompliance. Of the 531 major municipal and industrial dischargers reviewed by GAO, 8 percent did not submit one or more DMR's and 37 percent submitted one or more incomplete DMR's over an 18-month period. Further, the accuracy of DMR data is questionable in many cases. Compliance with permit conditions is the primary goal of enforcement action. GAO found many instances of noncompliance that continued for extended periods before formal enforcement action was taken and, in some cases, continued for years even after enforcement action had been taken. Thousands of applicants have not been given discharge permits, and thousands of dischargers hold expired permits; these situations reduce the potential of the permit program to control and reduce water pollution. GAO believes that the program's problems will likely continue because their underlying causes involve limited resources at both the federal and state levels.