WHY STORM DRAIN STENCILING?
Many people believe that surface water pollution is caused by big businesses or large government facilities that have waste disposal pipes discharging directly into the rivers. On the whole, this in no longer the case. In recent years these pollution sources have greatly reduced their negative impact on water quality. These facilities are required to maintain current discharge permits (with EPA and/or DEQ), and are stringently regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The NPDES permit program sets pollution limitations and other necessary limitations on each waste discharge point, with permits typically requiring renewal in 5 years. Provisions of the NPDES permits are enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Division of Environmental Quality pursuant to Section 402 of the Clean Water Act. In comparison to big facilities with identifiable pipes (known as “point-source” polluters), storm water runoff is a “non-point” source of pollutio
