May 21, 2018 Industry Comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Clean Water Act Coverage of “Discharges of Pollutants” via a Direct Hydrologic Connection to Surface Water
This letter provides comments from the American Petroleum Institute (“API”), Association of Oil Pipe Lines (“AOPL”), American Exploration & Production Council (“AXPC”), Independent Petroleum Association of America (“IPAA”), the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (“DEPA”), and the Marcellus Shale Coalition (“MSC”) – (collectively, “the Associations”), responding to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s” or “The Agency’s”) Request for Comments on Clean Water Act (“CWA” or “the Act”) Coverage of “Discharges of Pollutants” via a Direct Hydrologic Connection to Surface Water. The Associations appreciate that EPA opened this comment period. Our members share EPA’s concern that seemingly contradictory Agency guidance and conflicting case law have blurred the Act’s conspicuous delineation between those point source discharges to jurisdictional waters that require CWA permits, and releases to groundwater that do not require CWA permitting.
