Current Regulatory Framework - Coal Waste Impoundments: Risks, Responses, and Alternatives - page 31

40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart Y). This requirement does not apply to refuse
impoundments directly, but some states regulate fugitive dust emissions from
these impoundments (e.g., Indiana, New Mexico). Certain alternative
technologies to conventional refuse impoundment storage systems may require
additional air permitting if the technology requires thermal processes such as
synfuels production, fine coal drying, or mine-mouth fluidized-bed combustion.
Clean Water Act
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1342) establishes the
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements for point-source
discharges of pollutants to surface water. All releases of water through discrete
conveyances from a coal mining operation must be permitted, monitored, and
reported under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program.
Under this program, specific effluent limits define the maximum level of
contaminants allowed in the discharge. EPA is currently in the process of
applying watershed effluent limits based on total maximum daily load for
certain contaminants to new and existing National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permits (33 U.S.C. § 1313 (d)). Regulations for point-
source discharges from coal mining are found at 40 C.F.R. Part 434.
The Clean Water Act, § 402, also obliges the EPA and its state delegate
programs to protect the quality of surface water from sediment and other
contaminants from nonpoint sources associated with surface runoff (40 C.F.R. §
122.26). Sedimentation ponds are constructed downgradient from the coal
refuse impoundment to collect surface runoff from the embankment downslope
and reduce sediment load before release. Releases from sedimentation ponds
are subject to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System effluent
discharge requirements, which contain limits for suspended solids.
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344) authorizes the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to permit the discharge of dredged or fill material into
waters of the United States, including wetlands. Regulations promulgated by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers include a definition of “fill” as follows (33
C.F.R. Part 323.2(e)):
any material used for the primary purpose of replacing an aquatic area with dry
land or of changing the bottom elevation of an [sic] waterbody. The term does
not include any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of
waste, as that activity is regulated under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act.