The Clean Water Act (CWA) Action Plan Implementation Priorities describes the new approaches to revamp the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting, compliance and enforcement program. There are four key changes to how we implement the NPDES program:

1. Switch existing paper reporting to electronic reporting with automated compliance evaluations and improved transparency.
2. Create a new paradigm in which our regulations and permits compel compliance via public accountability, self-monitoring, electronic reporting and other methods.
3. Address the most serious water pollution problems by fundamentally re-tooling key NPDES permitting and enforcement practices, while continuing to vigorously enforce against serious violators.
4. Conduct comprehensive and coordinated permitting, compliance, and enforcement programs to improve state and EPA performance in protecting and improving water quality.

Issued May 11, 2011

• CWA Action Plan Implementation Priorities: Changes to Improve Water Quality, Increase Compliance and Expand Transparency (PDF)(16 pp, 165 K)