- United States Code
- TITLE 33 - NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
- CHAPTER 26 - WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
- SUBCHAPTER III - STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 1323. Federal facilities pollution control
- (a)
Each department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government (1)
having jurisdiction over any property or facility, or (2) engaged
in any activity resulting, or which may result, in the discharge or
runoff of pollutants, and each officer, agent, or employee thereof
in the performance of his official duties, shall be subject to, and
comply with, all Federal, State, interstate, and local
requirements, administrative authority, and process and sanctions
respecting the control and abatement of water pollution in the same
manner, and to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity
including the payment of reasonable service charges. The preceding
sentence shall apply (A) to any requirement whether substantive or
procedural (including any recordkeeping or reporting requirement,
any requirement respecting permits and any other requirement,
whatsoever), (B) to the exercise of any Federal, State, or local
administrative authority, and (C) to any process and sanction,
whether enforced in Federal, State, or local courts or in any other
manner. This subsection shall apply notwithstanding any immunity
of such agencies, officers, agents, or employees under any law or
rule of law. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent
any department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal
Government, or any officer, agent, or employee thereof in the
performance of his official duties, from removing to the
appropriate Federal district court any proceeding to which the
department, agency, or instrumentality or officer, agent, or
employee thereof is subject pursuant to this section, and any such
proceeding may be removed in accordance with section 1441 et seq.
of title 28. No officer, agent, or employee of the United States
shall be personally liable for any civil penalty arising from the
performance of his official duties, for which he is not otherwise
liable, and the United States shall be liable only for those civil
penalties arising under Federal law or imposed by a State or local
court to enforce an order or the process of such court. The
President may exempt any effluent source of any department, agency,
or instrumentality in the executive branch from compliance with any
such a requirement if he determines it to be in the paramount
interest of the United States to do so; except that no exemption
may be granted from the requirements of section 1316 or 1317 of
this title. No such exemptions shall be granted due to lack of
appropriation unless the President shall have specifically
requested such appropriation as a part of the budgetary process and
the Congress shall have failed to make available such requested
appropriation. Any exemption shall be for a period not in excess
of one year, but additional exemptions may be granted for periods
of not to exceed one year upon the President's making a new
determination. The President shall report each January to the
Congress all exemptions from the requirements of this section
granted during the preceding calendar year, together with his
reason for granting such exemption. In addition to any such
exemption of a particular effluent source, the President may, if he
determines it to be in the paramount interest of the United States
to do so, issue regulations exempting from compliance with the
requirements of this section any weaponry, equipment, aircraft,
vessels, vehicles, or other classes or categories of property, and
access to such property, which are owned or operated by the Armed
Forces of the United States (including the Coast Guard) or by the
National Guard of any State and which are uniquely military in
nature. The President shall reconsider the need for such
regulations at three-year intervals.
- (b)
- (1)
The Administrator shall coordinate with the head of each
department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government
having jurisdiction over any property or facility utilizing
federally owned wastewater facilities to develop a program of
cooperation for utilizing wastewater control systems utilizing
those innovative treatment processes and techniques for which
guidelines have been promulgated under section 1314(d)(3) of this
title. Such program shall include an inventory of property and
facilities which could utilize such processes and techniques.
- (2)
Construction shall not be initiated for facilities for
treatment of wastewater at any Federal property or facility after
September 30, 1979, if alternative methods for wastewater treatment
at such property or facility utilizing innovative treatment
processes and techniques, including but not limited to methods
utilizing recycle and reuse techniques and land treatment are not
utilized, unless the life cycle cost of the alternative treatment
works exceeds the life cycle cost of the most cost effective
alternative by more than 15 per centum. The Administrator may
waive the application of this paragraph in any case where the
Administrator determines it to be in the public interest, or that
compliance with this paragraph would interfere with the orderly
compliance with conditions of a permit issued pursuant to section
1342 of this title.
[Notes]