EPA Activities Pursuant to 2023 Settlement Agreement
Overview - Progress Evaluations - Permitting Activities - Enforcement and Compliance Activities - Grants Activities
Overview
On July 10, 2023, EPA entered into a Settlement Agreement resolving litigation challenging EPA’s oversight of Pennsylvania’s implementation of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL) and the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership’s 2025 water quality goals. As part of the final agreement, EPA has committed to take several actions and to post information online regarding many of those actions.
Progress Evaluations
Progress toward 2025 Chesapeake Bay Program partnership goals
Permitting Activities
According to Section 402(b)(1)(b) of the Clean Water Act, as well as the federal regulations at 40 Code of Federal Regulations,(CFR) 122.46, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits shall be effective for a fixed term not to exceed 5 years. NPDES permits can continue to apply after 5 years under administrative extension if a permittee has submitted a timely and complete renewal application but has not yet received a renewed permit. If a state has authorization to implement the NPDES permit program, EPA retains oversight authority of NPDES permits issued by the state and can object to those permits once the state sends EPA a draft permit to review. See 40 CFR 123.44. Pursuant to the 2023 Settlement Agreement, EPA assessed and developed a list of administratively extended NPDES permits in Pennsylvania as of September 2023, and annually until December 31, 2025. The list includes, general permits (GPs) and individual permits, as appropriate. (hyperlink to pdf document)
In 2010, EPA Region 3 developed a document for Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authorities to use when developing and issuing permits and implementing regulations for discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) in the MidAtlantic Region. Region 3 has revised the 2010 document to ensure that it reflects current regulatory requirements, the best-available science, and Agency priorities for the MS4 NPDES program. EPA Region 3 has been working with states in the Region that are authorized to implement the NPDES program, to ensure that permits are consistent with the permitting approach and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
See November 7, 2023 - Municipal Stormwater Permitting Approach for the Mid-Atlantic Region
Enforcement and Compliance Activities
For information on Enforcement and Compliance, see EPA’s page on Enforcement
EPA issued a public statement of the Agency’s planned maintenance or increase in compliance-assurance activities in Pennsylvania.
Summaries of Compliance-Assurance Activities
Every six (6) months EPA will post on this webpage a summary of compliance-assurance activities (for example, federal inspections, investigations, and/or compliance evaluations) to assess the compliance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)-permitted sources that EPA has concluded during the previous six (6) months in Pennsylvania’s Tier I (Lancaster, York) and Tier II (Bedford, Centre, Cumberland, Franklin, Lebannon) counties, and the results of any concluded enforcement action, collected penalty, and/or required corrective measure to address nutrient and sediment reductions based on statutory and regulatory violations, to the extent that EPA is permitted by law to make such information publicly available.
Summary of compliance assurance activities January-June 2023 (pdf)
Summary of compliance assurance activities July-December 2023 (pdf)
Summary of compliance-assurance activities Jan-June 2024 (pdf)
Summary of compliance-assurance activities July -December 2024 (pdf)