Local Implementation of Stormwater Management Practices Pursuant to the Clean Water and Coastal Zone Management Acts

The legislative framework for controlling stormwater runoff emanates from two federal acts; the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Under the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) subjects point sources to direct, uniform and effective federal regulation, but leaves nonpoint sources to state control with largely passive and ineffective federal involvement. The structure of CZMA reflects congressional belief that management of the coastal zone is primarily a matter of managing land uses, and land use is the traditional province of the states and localities. As such, the federal statutory scheme for the regulation of nonpoint source water pollution places primary regulatory responsibility with states and municipalities because of the associated land use issues. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act and other environmental legislation of the 1970's, the quality of waters within the United States has improved dramatically. Despite this progress, however, nearly half of the Nation's waters are significantly degraded and the leading source of this impairment is polluted stormwater runoff. This paper will begin analysis of the problem with a brief discussion of the legislative context; comparing and contrasting the approaches to nonpoint source pollution pursuant to the CWA and CZMA, as each has been amended. For each Act, there will be an empirical discussion addressing how each statute is implemented at the state and local level. The crux of this paper is a case study which reveals the practical application of the relevant law. A residential development proposal is tracked from its initial application through the environmental review process. This provides a window into how issues of national concern are translated into local action