The Disposal of Environmentally Damaging Fluids
Since 1971, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented and enforced federal environmental laws. The United States Congress passed comprehensive environmental legislation that regulated virtually every potential environmental impact resulting from manufacturing or other commercial activities (Cheney). The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1971, established standards for all geological, air, noise, utility, light, traffic, and aesthetic areas of environmental impact (Dagodag, 1991, xi). Covered in the geological standards area is the disposal of potentially hazardous fluids. The provisions of these federal laws establish minimum national requirements and compliance standards to which state and local governments must comply.
Most federal environmental acts allow the EPA to delegate primary responsibility for implementation and enforcement of NEPA statutes to state agencies that have legal authority under state law to implement environmental regulatory programs that are at least as stringent as the comparable federal programs (Cheney). In New Hampshire, this state agency is the Department of Environmental Services.
State and Federal Regulation of Hazardous Fluids
Disposal of ordinary toxic fluids such as wastewater or street runoff are usually dealt with via a sewer collection system served by a publicly owned treatment works (POTW). Groundwater discharge permits are issued by DES. For reasons related to federal funding, New Hampshire has not sought delegation of EPA=s authority to issue surface water discharge permits under the National Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Therefore, a permit to discharge to surface waters requires both state and federal permits (Cheney).
When a POTW exists, the municipality is responsible for obtaining the NPDES permit covering all discharges from the POTW. However to ensure that the POTW is op...