Environmental Monitoring

Inspections for Compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) as amended by the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 set the basic structure for regulating the discharge of pollutants to our Nation’s waters. The CWA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to set effluent standards for all point-source industries, including the offshore oil and gas extraction industry. It is unlawful to discharge any pollutants unless a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is obtained.

The NPDES permits for projects in Alaska are issued by EPA Region X. The EPA has issued general NPDES permits for oil and gas activities in the Cook Inlet and for the Arctic (Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea). An individual permit has been issued for the Northstar development project. Information on EPA NPDES permits for Alaska is available on the EPA website.

NPDES permits require monitoring discharges, collecting and analyzing samples, record keeping and reporting to the EPA. The EPA maintains a compliance website with information on inspections and enforcement actions.

Because there is so little OCS activity in Alaska, the Alaska Region does not have a formal agreement with EPA for conducting NPDES compliance inspections. If an inspector identifies any potential NPDES non-compliance during inspections of an OCS activity the Alaska Region will notify EPA.