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Enforceability of WQS

Water quality standards are not directly enforceable, despite commonly held beliefs. This means that when standards are not being met, there is no legal requirement for specific measures to be taken by any of the pollutant sources. States are obligated, however, to take certain actions:

• Place the water body on the state’s CWA Sec. 303(d) list
• Develop TMDL(s) for each pollutant exceeding WQC
• Reduce effluent limits in NPDES permits for regulated facilities and activities to the degree necessary to prevent any cause of or contribution to violations of WQS and to achieve wasteload allocations (WLAs) in any relevant TMDLs

NPDES permittees are required to meet their effluent limits. If they fail to do so, they are subject to enforcement actions, including fines and other penalties; but there are no specific federal requirements applicable to nonpoint sources. Consequently, nonpoint sources are not subject to enforcement action under federal law regardless of their contribution to failure to meet WQS.