Clean Water Act Section 402

Under section 402 of the 1972 Clean Water Act, coal mining is categorized as a “point source” category meaning that all discharges from mining operations must comply with established water quality effluent limitations.  Any and all discharges must comply with these effluent limitations which are established by individual states to protect the existing use of streams.  Mining companies must obtain section 402 permits before initiating any activity that will result in a discharge to a stream.  The majority of the discharges from coal mines are simply storm water runoffs which must be routed to a discharge point where compliance with a section 402 permit is monitored.  The federal Environmental Protection Agency has delegated administration of the section 402 program to the State of West Virginia.