EPA Will Rescind Regulation Allowing Discharge of Pollutants Incidental to Normal Operation of a Vessel Within Two Years

In what is likely the last round of the current skirmish between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and citizen environmental groups over what types of water-related discharges from ships require permits, Northwest Environmental Advocates and other citizen environmental groups have successfully forced a timetable to be imposed on EPA for the recession of the 30-year-old Clean Water Act (CWA) vessel-discharge permitting exemption contained in 40 C.F.R. § 122.3(a). The vessel-discharge exemption allows the discharge of water that is "incidental to the normal operation of a vessel" without obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.