Midwest Environmental Advocates

Eliminating Pollution – Clean Water Discharge Permits

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into our public waters except in compliance with a permit issued by the EPA or the DNR. To that end, Congress created the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”). In Wisconsin, these permits are called Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or “WPDES” permits, and they are issued by the DNR to wastewater treatment plants, paper mills, concentrated animal feeding operations, sources of stormwater runoff like new subdivisions and highways, and other “point source” discharges of pollutants. If the DNR issues a WPDES permit, it has to make sure that the WPDES permit will not degrade water quality, including the fishing and swimming uses of the water.

WPDES permits expire after 5 years and must be reissued to incorporate the latest regulations and technology requirements developed to protect public waters. Anytime a WPDES permit is issued or reissued the public is given an opportunity to comment on the terms of the permit. This public participation process is an important component of the WPDES permitting process because it gives the public an opportunity to relay any specialized local concerns regarding the water receiving the permitted pollution and the permitted facility. Additionally, once a the terms of a permit are finalized, the regulated facility must strictly comply with the terms of the permit or be faced with potential citizen or government enforcement actions. Public involvement is equally important because once a permit is issued, a facility is immune from enforcement for causing pollution, so long as those discharges are authorized in their WPDES permit.

Click here to view a list of WPDES permits that DNR has recently proposed.

Click here to view a list of municipal and industrial facilities operating under the terms of a WPDES permit.

Among others, there are three important federal regulations that control the DNR’s issuance of WDPES permits.

First, federal law prohibits the DNR from issuing a WPDES permit for a new discharge of pollutants into an already polluted water, unless 1) there is a clean up plan in place for that water; 2) there is “room” or “assimilative capacity” in the stream for the new discharge without violating water quality standards; and 3) all of the dischargers on the stream are on a schedule to limit their pollution and clean up the stream.

Second, even when a stream is not already impaired, the DNR may not issue a WPDES permit where the discharge has the “reasonable potential” to cause or contribute a violation of the water quality standards for that stream. This is a called a “reasonable potential analysis,” and the DNR is required to do it. For example, the DNR cannot issue a WPDES permit for a wastewater treatment plant where the sewage discharge from it would violate water quality standards in the river. Instead, the DNR must add more requirements into the WPDES permit to ensure that water quality standards in the river will not be violated.

Third, and relatedly, the DNR cannot issue a new WPDES permit that will degrade or pollute pristine waters such as Exceptional Resource Waters and Outstanding Resource Waters. Instead, what comes out of the discharger’s pipe must be as high or better quality than the ambient receiving water. A few exceptions exist, such as where the discharge is necessary to correct a public health problem, as with a new sewage treatment plant in a community where septic systems are failing and polluting the groundwater. Another exception is where a wastewater treatment needs to expand its capacity and increase its discharge into an Exceptional Resource Water.

For other waters that are not Exceptional or Outstanding Resource Waters, some water quality degradation may be allowed where absolutely necessary to achieve important social and economic objectives, but the burden is on the WPDES permit applicant to make this showing.

Enforcing the Clean Water Permits

The public is allowed to enforce the requirements of WPDES permits. You have the right to go to court to make sure that a facility complies with its WPDES permit. If you prevail in your case, the court will likely order the defendant to comply with the WPDES permit and pay civil penalties to the U.S. treasury. Midwest Environmental Advocates has brought several lawsuits to enforce the requirements of WPDES permits, including:

Scott and Judy Treml v. Stahl Farms

Concerned Farmers & Neighbors of the Town of Hixton v. Sedelbauer Farms, Inc .

Sierra Club v. Cintas Corporation

Sierra Club v. Emmpak Foods, Inc.

Sierra Club v. Maple Ridge Dairy

To read more about Midwest Environmental Advocates' Clean Water Campaign, click here.

How You Can Help

Commenting on Clean Water Permits

The public is allowed to comment on the DNR’s proposals to issue WPDES permits. MEA has commented on the permits below. Click here to read them, and use them as a guide for writing your own comments.

Antigo Cheese

Auto Recyclers General Permit

Auto Salvage General Permit

City of South Milwaukee

City of St. Francis

Construction Stormwater General Permit