EPA Offers Rules on Storm Sewer Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules that would require more than 100,000 industrial sites and municipal facilities to prevent pollutants from washing into storm sewers.
Facilities covered by the regulations announced Friday will have to draw up plans for preventing oil and other wastes from entering storm sewers. They also will have to sample storm water periodically to see if there is a pollution problem.
Tougher rules are set for an estimated 2,250 facilities that handle any of 175 toxic chemicals that pose the greatest risk of polluting rivers, lakes and oceans.
The new regulations are to be published for public comment, with the agency expecting them to become effective by December. Facilities will have 180 days to apply for permits and develop pollution prevention plans, then a year to put the plans into effect and show compliance.
Some facilities that will be affected include manufacturing plants, airports, landfills, recycling centers and junkyards.
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