Stormwater runoff is classified by the EPA as the leading cause of water quality problems. The technical term for stormwater runoff is nonpoint source pollution (NPS), because there is no single pipe or source of pollution, such as industrial and sewage treatment plants. Instead, nonpoint pollution comes from many widespread sources, occurring whenever there is significant rainfall or snowmelt.
As the runoff flows across the land, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.
The most significant contributor to NPS pollution is from construction operations. Construction removes topsoil and vegetation, which prevent loose dirt and soil from washing away while also acting as a natural filter before the runoff reaches a water body. Due to this threat, EPA has imposed a series of regulations and guidelines that effectively reduce construction’s impact to water pollution.
However, not all construction activities are required to follow these regulations. In 2005, the federal government exempted oil and gas construction from these stormwater regulations, leaving an damaging loophole in the vital protection in our nation’s waters.
Here are erosion gullies leaving a well pad from stormwater
run-off, in Little Missouri Grasslands, North Dakota. (Photo
by Cindy Klein, Dakota Resource Council)
Sediment from stormwater run-off flowed into this field, located on the Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming, burying animal habitat and plant life. This gully is large enough for a semi-truck to fit inside. (Photo by Linda F Baker, Upper Green River Valley Coalition)
Further Information
.jpg)