1. NPDES Permits for Discharges to Groundwater
Opportunity to Comment

2. Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui. Opinion of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (filed 2/1/2018)
The County’s four wells are “point sources” discharging “pollutants” into groundwater that subsequently entered a “navigable water,” the Pacific Ocean
The wells therefore were subject to NPDES regulation
County is liable under the CWA

3. Amici: AWCA, CASA, CSAC, IMLA, League, NACWA, NACo, NLC, NWRA
Court Opinion:
the County “indirectly discharge[d] a pollutant into the ocean through a groundwater conduit”
the groundwater is a “point source” under the CWA
the groundwater is a “navigable water” under the Act. Id. at 993, 999,
Amici:
Disregarded the NPDES “point source” requirement
Migration of pollutants through groundwater “conduit”, a diffuse, non- point source
Groundwater is not a WOTUS and not point source

4. Federal Register / Vol. 83, No
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 20, 2018 / Proposed Rules
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 122
[EPA–HQ–OW–2018–0063; FRL–9973–41–OW]
Clean Water Act Coverage of ‘‘Discharges of Pollutants’’ via a Direct Hydrologic Connection to Surface Water
ACTION: Request for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 21, 2018.

5. Different strokes for different folks:
EPA has not stated that CWA permits are required for pollutant discharges to groundwater in all cases
EPA has stated pollutants discharged from point sources to jurisdictional surface waters that occur via groundwater or other subsurface flow that has a direct hydrologic connection to the surface water may require such permits.
Some courts have found CWA includes regulation of releases to groundwater with a direct hydrologic connection to jurisdictional surface water
Other courts have held that the statute does not extend to releases to groundwater

6. EPA requests comments on:
Whether EPA should review and potentially revise its previous statements concerning the applicability of the CWA NPDES permit program to pollutant discharges from point sources that reach jurisdictional surface waters via groundwater or other subsurface flow that has a direct hydrologic connection
Whether subjecting such releases to CWA permitting is consistent with the text, structure, and purposes of the CWA
Whether those releases would be better addressed through other federal or state statutory or regulatory programs
What format or process EPA should use to revise or clarify its previous statements

8. Divider Slide