Point Sources of Pollution

Piped effluent from municipal and industrial operations is called point source pollution. Every point source discharge of any contaminant to surface water of the United States must obtain a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), the predominant mechanism for regulating pollution under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These permits specify limits for mass or concentration of specific pollutants, monitoring requirements, and other provisions such as spill prevention plans. In the decades since the CWA was enacted, much progress has been made in controlling point source discharges (SAMAB 1996).

Waters Impacted by Toxic Chemicals
that Require Cleanup Plans

• Currently, about 3,000 point sources discharge treated wastewater into surface water in the southern Appalachians.
• Seven percent of the point sources are considered major facilities based on their volume of pollutant loading.
• A majority of the permitted sources in the region with effluent discharges exceeding 1 million gallons per day (132 out of 222) are municipal treatment facilities. Municipal sources contribute 40 percent of all permitted discharges.
• The three industries with the largest number of point discharges are mining, textiles, and chemical:
  • Four mining facilities are considered major discharges; most are in Campbell and Sequatchie Counties, Tennessee.
  • Nineteen textile facilities rank in the major class; the majority are located in Greenville and Pickens Counties, South Carolina.
  • Twenty-one chemical facilities rank as major pollutant sources; most of them are in Hamilton County, Tennessee and Greenville County, South Carolina.
• Thirty NPDES permit facilities have contributed so much toxic effluent to surface waters of the region that they currently require individual control strategies to ensure that they do not continue to violate water quality standards (SAMAB 1996).

Fish consumption advisories have been issued in the region due to contamination. Relatively recently, regulatory efforts have begun tackling nonpoint source pollution. Cumulative impacts of land use and point and nonpoint sources of pollution in watersheds are of increasing concern.