U.S. Code » Title 33 » Chapter CHAPTER 26— WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER V— GENERAL PROVISIONS

33 U.S.C. § 1362

Definitions

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Except as otherwise specifically provided, when used in this chapter:(1) The term “State water pollution control agency” means the State agency designated by the Governor having responsibility for enforcing State laws relating to the abatement of pollution.(2) The term “interstate agency” means an agency of two or more States established by or pursuant to an agreement or compact approved by the Congress, or any other agency of two or more States, having substantial powers or duties pertaining to the control of pollution as determined and approved by the Administrator.(3) The term “State” means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.(4) The term “municipality” means a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or pursuant to State law and having jurisdiction over disposal of sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or an Indian tribe or an authorized Indian tribal organization, or a designated and approved management agency under section 1288 of this title.(5) The term “person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, or political subdivision of a State, or any interstate body.(6) The term “pollutant” means dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water. This term does not mean (A) “sewage from vessels or a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces” within the meaning of section 1322 of this title; or (B) water, gas, or other material which is injected into a well to facilitate production of oil or gas, or water derived in association with oil or gas production and disposed of in a well, if the well used either to facilitate production or for disposal purposes is approved by authority of the State in which the well is located, and if such State determines that such injection or disposal will not result in the degradation of ground or surface water resources.(7) The term “navigable waters” means the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.(8) The term “territorial seas” means the belt of the seas measured from the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of inland waters, and extending seaward a distance of three miles.(9) The term “contiguous zone” means the entire zone established or to be established by the United States under article 24 of the Convention of the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.(10) The term “ocean” means any portion of the high seas beyond the contiguous zone.(11) The term “effluent limitation” means any restriction established by a State or the Administrator on quantities, rates, and concentrations of chemical, physical, biological, and other constituents which are discharged from point sources into navigable waters, the waters of the contiguous zone, or the ocean, including schedules of compliance.(12) The term “discharge of a pollutant” and the term “discharge of pollutants” each means (A) any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source, (B) any addition of any pollutant to the waters of the contiguous zone or the ocean from any point source other than a vessel or other floating craft.(13) The term “toxic pollutant” means those pollutants, or combinations of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will, on the basis of information available to the Administrator, cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformations, in such organisms or their offspring.(14) The term “point source” means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.(15) The term “biological monitoring” shall mean the determination of the effects on aquatic life, including accumulation of pollutants in tissue, in receiving waters due to the discharge of pollutants (A) by techniques and procedures, including sampling of organisms representative of appropriate levels of the food chain appropriate to the volume and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the effluent, and (B) at appropriate frequencies and locations.(16) The term “discharge” when used without qualification includes a discharge of a pollutant, and a discharge of pollutants.(17) The term “schedule of compliance” means a schedule of remedial measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with an effluent limitation, other limitation, prohibition, or standard.(18) The term “industrial user” means those industries identified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, Bureau of the Budget, 1967, as amended and supplemented, under the category of “Division D—Manufacturing” and such other classes of significant waste producers as, by regulation, the Administrator deems appropriate.(19) The term “pollution” means the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological integrity of water.(20) The term “medical waste” means isolation wastes; infectious agents; human blood and blood products; pathological wastes; sharps; body parts; contaminated bedding; surgical wastes and potentially contaminated laboratory wastes; dialysis wastes; and such additional medical items as the Administrator shall prescribe by regulation.(21)Coastal recreation waters.—(A)In general.—The term “coastal recreation waters” means—(i) the Great Lakes; and(ii) marine coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that are designated under section 1313(c) of this title by a State for use for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar water contact activities.(B)Exclusions.—The term “coastal recreation waters” does not include—(i) inland waters; or(ii) waters upstream of the mouth of a river or stream having an unimpaired natural connection with the open sea.(22)Floatable material.—(A)In general.—The term “floatable material” means any foreign matter that may float or remain suspended in the water column.(B)Inclusions.—The term “floatable material” includes—(i) plastic;(ii) aluminum cans;(iii) wood products;(iv) bottles; and(v) paper products.(23)Pathogen indicator.—The term “pathogen indicator” means a substance that indicates the potential for human infectious disease.(24)Oil and gas exploration and production.—The term “oil and gas exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations or transmission facilities” means all field activities or operations associated with exploration, production, processing, or treatment operations, or transmission facilities, including activities necessary to prepare a site for drilling and for the movement and placement of drilling equipment, whether or not such field activities or operations may be considered to be construction activities.(25)Recreational vessel.—(A)In general.—The term “recreational vessel” means any vessel that is—(i) manufactured or used primarily for pleasure; or(ii) leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the pleasure of that person.(B)Exclusion.—The term “recreational vessel” does not include a vessel that is subject to Coast Guard inspection and that—(i) is engaged in commercial use; or(ii) carries paying passengers.(26)Treatment works.—The term “treatment works” has the meaning given the term in section 1292 of this title.(27)Green infrastructure.—The term “green infrastructure” means the range of measures that use plant or soil systems, permeable pavement or other permeable surfaces or substrates, stormwater harvest and reuse, or landscaping to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to sewer systems or to surface waters.(June 30, 1948, ch. 758, title V, § 502, as added Pub. L. 92–500, § 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 886; amended Pub. L. 95–217, § 33(b), Dec. 27, 1977, 91 Stat. 1577; Pub. L. 100–4, title V, §§ 502(a), 503, Feb. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 75; Pub. L. 100–688, title III, § 3202(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4154; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title III, § 325(c)(3), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 259; Pub. L. 106–284, § 5, Oct. 10, 2000, 114 Stat. 875; Pub. L. 109–58, title III, § 323, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 694; Pub. L. 110–288, § 3, July 29, 2008, 122 Stat. 2650; Pub. L. 113–121, title V, § 5012(b), June 10, 2014, 128 Stat. 1328; Pub. L. 115–436, § 5(a), Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5561.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2019—Par. (27). Pub. L. 115–436 added par. (27).

2014—Par. (26). Pub. L. 113–121 added par. (26).

2008—Par. (25). Pub. L. 110–288 added par. (25).

2005—Par. (24). Pub. L. 109–58 added par. (24).

2000—Pars. (21) to (23). Pub. L. 106–284 added pars. (21) to (23).

1996—Par. (6)(A). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “ ‘sewage from vessels or a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces’ ” for “ ‘sewage from vessels’ ”.

1988—Par. (20). Pub. L. 100–688 added par. (20).

1987—Par. (3). Pub. L. 100–4, § 502(a), inserted “the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” after “Samoa,”.

Par. (14). Pub. L. 100–4, § 503, inserted “agricultural stormwater discharges and” after “does not include”.

1977—Par. (14). Pub. L. 95–217 inserted provision that “point source” does not include return flows from irrigated agriculture.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2014 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 113–121 effective Oct. 1, 2014, see section 5012(c) of Pub. L. 113–121, set out as a note under section 1292 of this title.

Definition of “Point Source”

Pub. L. 100–4, title V, § 507, Feb. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 78, provided that: “For purposes of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.], the term ‘point source’ includes a landfill leachate collection system.”

Executive DocumentsTermination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.

Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone of United States

For extension of territorial sea and contiguous zone of United States, see Proc. No. 5928 and Proc. No. 7219, respectively, set out as notes under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 951 cases (114 in the last 5 years), 1973–2026 · leading case: Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 887 F.3d 637 (4th Cir. 2018).
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Upstate Forever v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., 887 F.3d 637 (4th Cir. 2018). · cites it 43× “” 1 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (12)(A). A “point source” in turn is defined as “any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, [or] container .”
Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006). · cites it 22× “Rapanos that his saturated fields were "waters of the United States," 33 U. S. C. § 1362 (7), that could not be filled *721 without a permit.”
Ky. Waterways All. v. Kentucky Util. Co., 905 F.3d 925 (6th Cir. 2018). · cites it 32× “Similarly, federal regulation under the CWA only extends to pollutants discharged into navigable waters, 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (12), leaving the states to regulate all pollution of non-navigable waters.”
Ecological Rights Found. v. Pac. Gas & Elec. Co., 713 F.3d 502 (9th Cir. 2013). · cites it 12× “” 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (14). The CWA does not define “nonpoint source,” but we have explained that it is widely understood to be the type of pollution that arises from many dispersed activities over large areas, and is not traceable to any single discrete source.”
Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. United States Env't Prot. Agency, 846 F.3d 492 (2d Cir. 2017). · cites it 11× “The statute defines the discharge of a pollutant as “any addition of any pollutant to navigable waters from any point source,” 8 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (12)(A), where “navigable waters” means “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas,” id.”
Cordiano v. Metacon Gun Club, Inc., 575 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2009). · cites it 10× “” 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (12). “ ‘[P]ollutant’ is defined to include not only traditional contaminants but also solids such as ‘dredged soil, .”
Tenn. Clean Water Network v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 905 F.3d 436 (6th Cir. 2018). · cites it 30× “” 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (7). TVA has two coal ash ponds or impoundments at the Gallatin plant: the Non-Registered Site (“NRS”) and the Ash Pond Complex (“Complex”).”
Ohio Valley Env't Coalition v. Aracoma Coal Co., 556 F.3d 177 (4th Cir. 2009). · cites it 8× “" 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (7) (2000). The release of treated waters from sediment ponds back into a stream, for example, require a CWA § 402 NPDES permit.”
Friends of the Everglades v. South Florida Water Mgmt. Dist., 570 F.3d 1210 (11th Cir. 2009). · cites it 9× “CARNES, Circuit Judge: This appeal turns on whether the transfer of a pollutant from one navigable body of water to another is a “discharge of a pollutant” within the meaning of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (12). If it is, a National Pollution Discharge Elimination…”
Nat. Resources Def. Council v. United States Env't Prot. Agency, 526 F.3d 591 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 14× “§ 1342 ( l )(2), as amended by section 323 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 33 U.S.C. § 1362 (24), and under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.”
Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305 (1982). · cites it 6× “" 33 U. S. C. § 1362 (12) (emphasis added).”
Cnty. of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020). · cites it 6× “” 33 U. S. C. §1362 (12)(A); see §§1311(a), 1342(a).”
Show all 951 citing cases →
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(11) — 2 cases
Sierra Club v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 834 F.2d 1517 (9th Cir. 1987).
Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. U.S. Env't Prot. Agency, 863 F.2d 1420 (9th Cir. 1988).
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(12) — 1 case
Conservation Law Found., Inc. v. New Hampshire Fish & Game Dep't, et al., 2020 DNH 150 (D.N.H. 2020).
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(14) — 2 cases
Sierra Club v. Abston Constr. Co., Inc., State of Alabama Ex Rel., Intervenor-Appellant, 620 F.2d 41 (5th Cir. 1980).
Mayor & City Cncl. Of Balt. V. B.P. P.L.C. (Md. 2026).
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(5) — 2 cases
United States Dep't of Energy v. Ohio, 503 U.S. 607 (1992).
State v. Jones, 101 So. 3d 1083 (La. Ct. App. 2012).
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(6) — 2 cases
Hammack v. Missouri Clean Water Comm'n, 659 S.W.2d 595 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983).
Colorado Pub. Interest Rsch. Grp., Inc. v. Train, 373 F. Supp. 991 (D. Colo. 1974).
— 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7) — 4 cases
United States v. S. Inv. Co., S. Inv. Co., Cross-Appellee v. United States of Am., Cross-Appellant, 876 F.2d 606 (8th Cir. 1989).
United States v. Holland, 373 F. Supp. 665 (M.D. Fla. 1974).
United States v. Malibu Beach, Inc., 711 F. Supp. 1301 (D.N.J. 1989).
United States v. Rapanos (6th Cir. 2004).
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