An Arkansas Producer's Guide to the Clean Water Act

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the CWA’s regulatory impact on Arkansas’s agricultural producers. This article will discuss in the subsections below: 1) the jurisdiction and waters covered by the CWA; 2) the broad definition that has been given to the term “pollutant” by the courts and how some agricultural activities qualify as a “pollutant”; 3) point source and non-point sources of agricultural pollution; 4) the two types of CWA permits, National Pollution Discharge System (NPDES) permits and Section 404 permits that may be relevant for agricultural producers; and 5) the statutory requirement that certain animal feeding operations are required in certain situations to apply for a NPDES permit. The regulatory requirements on these animal feeding operation operators will be discussed to give these operators a better understanding the duties placed on them under the CWA.

Keywords: CWA, Clean Water Act, CAFO, Arkansas, Agriculture