MANAGEMENT ACTIONS
Management Action 1:
Promote pollution prevention planning and alternatives to discharge, where feasible, for all point sources to reduce the volume and toxicity
of discharges.
Management Action 2:
Expand and strengthen enforcement of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. Increase site inspections and review of self-monitoring data to improve facility compliance by 1995.
Objective C:
Reduce Pollution From Point Sources, Such as Wastewater Treatment Facilities and Industry
Strategy: In addition to the reduction of point source impacts gained through the utilization of basinwide management planning (see Objective A), further gains can be made through the use of proactive manage-ment strategies such as pollution prevention and increased emphasis on facility inspections and monitoring. In general, focus would be placed on reducing waste at the source.
Pollution Prevention Programs are an excellent means of achieving waste reductions and, in some cases, production cost reductions. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) Office of Waste Reduction's (OWR) Pollution Prevention Program provides multi-media waste reduction technical assistance to industries. The Division of Environmental Management's (DEM) Pretreatment Program works to protect municipal or publicly owned wastewater treatment works and their receiving waters from the detrimental impacts of industrial users.
Better use of these programs would be instrumental in helping reduce inputs to all systems operating under regulatory water quality control. The Department's goal is to incorporate pollution prevention into all aspects of environmental protection programs.
A 1991 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supporting pollution prevention projects in Winston-Salem and Troy. According to records maintained in the DEM's Compliance Monitoring System, the percentage of dischargers found operating in violation of their permit (out-of-compliance) has decreased over the years.
Increased computerization of DEM's compliance monitoring activities have assisted in an increase in administrative assessments and civil penalty cases. However, in order to be more proactive in preventing permit violations and resulting water quality degradation, the Division requires more staff for review of monitoring data and for conducting inspections.
Increased inspections provide the benefit of improved communication between the Division and dischargers and early detection of potential problems which prevents some violations before they occur. Nonpoint sources of pollution are varied and are usually difficult to regulate. Targeted reductions can be accomplished by building on present programs and efforts. A three-pronged approach consisting of research and demonstration projects, incentive-based programs, and regulatory action and enforcement is necessary to accomplish true reductions. As part of the basinwide management plan, a nonpoint source pollution control plan would be developed for each river basin to address all sources of nonpoint source pollution. By characterizing individual basins, this plan would create management strategies that identify problem areas and implement control measures necessary to reduce nonpoint source pollution. Research and demonstration of on-site control methods for nonpoint sources, often referred to as best management practices, provide increased opportunities for the reduction of nonpoint source loadings. Incentive programs, such as cost share programs, would be used whenever possible to control existing sources of pollution. Regulatory enforcement action would be used as a tool whenever water quality violations occur or when established minimum criteria are not met in spite of available cost share assistance. Therefore, the nonpoint source pollution enforcement program within the Division of Environmental Management (DEM) would be strengthened. Other efforts to reduce basinwide nonpoint sources of pollution would include changes in the management of marinas, stormwater runoff, wastewater treatment, and forestry practices. Additionally, the development and implementation of nonpoint source control plans on a basinwide level will support future initiatives required by Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990.