About Environmental Law Institute
ELI's water pollution prevention program focuses on the cutting edge challenges facing America's waters. These include finding ways to address polluted runoff - the pollution coming from millions of nonpoint sources such as farms and forests and disturbed lands; the stormwater from development sites, cities and industrial facilities; the pollution from – more... animal feeding operations; and the cumulative impacts of both point sources and nonpoint sources on our nation's rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and coastal waters.
ELI's program identifies cutting edge strategies and new uses for existing laws. We are devoting particular attention to:
state approaches to nonpoint source pollution control,
laws affecting livestock operations, and
the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program that requires states to establish "pollution budgets" allocating responsibility for all discharges to their impaired waters, and to develop plans to bring those waters into compliance with water quality standards.
Recent ELI publications include:
State Regulation of Animal Feeding Operations: Seven State Summaries (2003). ELI examines the experiences of seven states that attempted to regulate "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFO's) under state laws and previous federal regulations. Seven states are analyzed in this report: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, and Oregon. The state summaries identify what facilities and operations are regulated, how they are regulated, what regulatory standards apply, and how compliance with standards is monitored and enforced. Enforceable State Mechanisms for the Control of Nonpoint Source Water Pollution. ELI examines the kinds of enforceable laws and policies on the books in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia that can address discharges not regulated under the Clean Water Act's NPDES permit program. The pros and cons of the laws are analyzed and discussed. The research finds that virtually every state has recourse to some mechanisms to address nonpoint source pollution, but that coverage is quite variable and that numerous exceptions and exemptions exist. Almanac of Enforceable State Laws to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution. In a companion study to the Enforceable State Mechanisms study, we publish state-by-state profiles describing in detail the enforceable laws on the books, how they work, and what activities and sources they do and do not cover. This comprehensive reference is a key guide for state officials, legislators and citizen groups and is essential for TMDL development and implementation activities. Putting the Pieces Together: State Nonpoint Source Enforceable Mechanisms in Context. We examine the state nonpoint water pollution control programs in Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin, assessing how the many cost-share and technical assistance programs in these states interact with the enforceable mechanisms on the books. Each state study focuses on particular watersheds in the state in order to show how on-the-ground implementation of these programs works. Locating Livestock: How Water Pollution Control Efforts Can Use Information from State Regulatory Programs. We examine state-by-state the existing programs that identify and address livestock operations under various programs (including animal health, marketing, regulatory, and others), and how that information can be used by pollution control authorities to identify and address livestock operations responsible for water pollution. Smart Growth and the Clean Water Act. In a collaborative study with the Northeast-Midwest Institute, ELI examines the relationship between three Clean Water Act programs and patterns of growth and development: the stormwater permitting program, the combined sewer overflow/sanitary sewer overflow program, and the TMDL program. The study finds that all three programs offer opportunities to support smart growth techniques, and that there is no evidence that the programs are promoting sprawl.
In addition to these ELI Research publications, ELI has also published the definitive guide to the TMDL program: The Clean Water Act TMDL Program: Law, Policy & Implementation by law professor Oliver Houck. – less – More from ZoomInfo »
