Stormwater Assessments and Sovereign Immunity: Recent Amendments to Section 313 of the Clean Water Act

• Published in: The George Washington journal of energy & environmental law Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 28
• Main Author: Kadlec, Kathleen L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington George Washington University, Law School 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Amendments; Clean Water Act-US; Environmental protection; Estuaries; Lakes; Law; Legislatures; Local government; Privileges & immunities; Rivers; Runoff; Statistics; Storm runoff; Stormwater; Streams; Urban areas; Urban runoff; Wetlands; United States > US
• ISSN: 2159-7707; 2169-1053

In 2008, the National Research Council (NRC) reported that out of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessed waterbodies in the United States, urban stormwater runoff was responsible for about 38,114 miles of impaired rivers and streams, 948,420 acres of impaired lakes, 2742 square miles of impaired bays and estuaries, and 79,582 acres of impaired wetlands. Urban stormwater was listed as the primary source of impairment for 13% of all rivers, 18% of all lakes, and 32% of all estuaries. These statistics may not sound dire, but stormwater runoff's influence is disproportionately large, as urban areas covered just 3% of the land mass of the US in 2008. While Congress created its own test, federal facilities will still have to face claims for unpaid fees incurred prior to the 2011 Stormwater Amendment, as municipalities will assert that the 2011 Stormwater Amendment is a clarification of an existing law.