Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/740457
WEEKLY EDITION October 19, 2016 Portable Sanitation and the EPA Part I Background. When the PSAI met for the first time in 1971, the founders had a lot of things on their minds. It was the Nixon era, and Congress was entertaining legislation to protect the environment. According to one of the original board members, "We wanted to contribute to laws and regulations being enacted to require portable sanitation on job sites and at public gatherings. [We also] wanted to protect our industry from onerous legislation." At the time, the 1948 Federal Water Pollution Control Act was in need of a makeover. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping changes. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). This law is still the foundation of the rules portable sanitation operators live with today. The CWA: • Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. • Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for all industries. • Maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. • Made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. • Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program. • Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution. Subsequent amendments modified some of the earlier CWA provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-state partnerships. How EPA does – and doesn't – affect portable sanitation companies today. The PSAI office gets calls every so often from operators seeking information about EPA. Sometimes they want to know what a "normal" level of a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2