Page 101 - Pipeline Pigging Technology

Pipeline Pigging Technology

changed the way the nation viewed the environment and provided a general
philosophy of environmental regulation. In addition, NEPA has acted as the
foundation for virtually all subsequent environmental laws.

Impacts on the pipeline industry, NEPA's major impact on the pipeline
industry stemmed from its requirement that federal agencies submit EISs for
anything deemed a major federal action. This mandate forced the Federal
Energy Regulation Commission (FERQ to require that the pipeline industry
prepare environmental assessments for many of its large, interstate pipeline
expansion projects. This FERC requirement caused added expenditures, as
well as occasionally delaying or altering construction. However, NEPA's most
significant impact was the requirement's strong focus of regulatory attention
on the pipeline industry and its operations.

CLEAN WATER ACT (CWA)

Synopsis: CWA, enacted in 1972, mainly controls discharges of effluent
from point sources into United States' waters. The act establishes national
technology-based effluent standards with which all point source discharges
are required to comply. The ultimate result of the act is to return all of the
United States' surface waters to a quality suitable for fishing and swimming.
CWA regulations include standards for direct discharges, indirect dis-
charges, sources that spill hazardous substances or oil, and discharges of
dredged or filled material.
Facilities that directly discharge into navigable waters must obtain a
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. This permit
allows the applicant to discharge certain effluents, providing that the permit
requirements are met. These requirements are based on the type of effluent,
as well as national technology-based guidelines, and state water quality
standards.
Discharges into municipal sewers are classified as indirect discharges and
do not require a permit. However, the discharge of effluent into a publicly-
owned treatment works (POTW) must comply with the pretreatment stand-
ards required by the POTW.
Section 311 of CWA is the common tie between CWA and the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),
and has as its objective the elimination of oil and hazardous substance spills

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