OPEN ACCESS
In Brazil, Law 9,433, enacted in 1997, established the National Water Resources Policy and created the National Water Resources Management System, introducing a new integrated approach to environmental management policies. This law defined the hydrographic basin as the unit of planning, considering multiple water uses, introducing many changes at the institutional and policy instruments levels. Fifteen years after the enactment of the above law, improvements still need to be done. Evidence of this is the process of revising the rules on pollutant discharge on water bodies. Despite the latest changes, there still exist improvements that could be considered. This paper aims to contribute to this effort, by comparing the Brazilian water pollution control model with the American model, which can provide valuable insights in terms of defining pollutant discharge limits based on industrial typologies, and especially for having pollution control instruments such as the total maximum daily load and the water quality trading policy. Finally, based on the US model, this paper makes suggestions that could be incorporated in Brazil to make water pollution control more effective.
Brazil, effluent discharge, pollution control, total maximum daily load, United States, water quality, water quality index
[1] Magrini, A. & Santos, M., River Basin Management and the National Water Resources Policy in Brazil, eds. C.A. Brebbia, P. Anagnostopoulos, K. Katsifarakis & A.H-D. Cheng, (Org.). Water Resources Management: Southampton, v. 4, pp. 79–88, 2001.
[2] Elabras-Veiga, L.B. & Magrini, A., Water Resources Management: Suggestions to the Brazilian Model Based on the American Experience, eds: C.A. Brebia & V. Popov. (Org.). Water Resources Management VI. 01 ed. WIT Press: United Kingdon, v. VI, pp. 39–50, 2011.
[3] Guimarães, L. & Magrini, A., A proposal of indicators for sustainable development in the management of river basins. Water Resource Management, 22, pp. 1191–1202, December 2007. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11269-007-9220-x
[4] Elabras-Veiga, L. B., Dez anos da Lei nº. 9.433 de 1997: atual estágio de implementação e comparação com a Legislação Internacional de Gestão de Recursos Hídricos, Relatório de Pesquisa, Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado do Rio de Janeiro – FAPERJ, RJ, Brasil, Setembro 2010.
[5] Instituto Brasileiro de Geografi a e Estatística (IBGE), available at http://www.ibge.org.br
[6] Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA), Conjuntura dos Recursos Hídricos no Brasil, ANA, Brasília, 2009.
[7] Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA), Conjuntura dos Recursos Hídricos no Brasil, Brasília, 2011.
[8] Magrini, A., Szklo, A.S., Elabras-Veiga, L.B., Henriques, R. & Silva, R.G., A cross-sectional analysis of Brazil’s effl uent discharge regulation. In: Fourth International Conference on River Basin Management Including all aspects of Hydrology, Ecology, Environmental Management, Flood Plains and Wetlands, 2007, KOS, Greece.
[9] Copeland, C., Clean Water Act: a summary of the Law, CSR Report for Congress 30030, USA, August 2008.
[10] Salzman, J. & Thompson Jr., B.H., Environmental law and policy (Chapter 5). Water Pollution, Foundation Press: USA, pp. 137–164, 2007.
[11] United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), National Recommended Water Quality Criteria, Washington, D.C., 2006, available at www.epa.org
[12] United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), Water Quality Standards Handbook - 2nd edn, Washington, D.C., 1994.
[13] United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), Technical Support Document for Effl uent Guidelines Program Plan, Washington, D.C., 2004.
[14] United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), Protecting the Nations´ Waters Through Effective NPDES Permit, A Strategic Plan for 2001 and beyond, Washington, 2001.
[15] Copeland, C., Clean Water Act and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of Pollutants, CSR Report for Congress 97-831, USA, 2008.
[16] United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), NPDES Permit: Writers Manual, US-EPA, Washington, D.C., 1996.
[17] US-EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook: Can Water Quality Trading Advance Your Watershed’s Goals?”, Washington, D.C., 2004, available at www.epa.org
[18] US-EPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Water Quality Trading Evaluation, Final Report: Through Evaluation Promoting Environmental Results”, Washington, D.C., 2008, available at www.epa.org