EENRSLP SPEAKER SERIES HOSTS SCOTT MCDONALD, CHIEF OF THE WATER ENFORCEMENT BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) IN REGION 6

Scott McDonald Alumni The second speaker of the spring semester’s EENRSLP Speaker Series was Scott McDonald, who presented on stormwater regulations on March 2, 2021. McDonald is a Texas A&M alumnus having graduated with a BBA in Finance.  He later attended Texas Wesleyan School of Law and worked at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) before transitioning to the USEPA. At TCEQ, he worked on various issues involving water, air, and waste, first in Austin, and then in TCEQ’s Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Office. In 2002, McDonald joined EPA Region 6 in the Office of Regional Counsel, Enforcement Division.  In that capacity, his work focuses on issues related to the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (hazardous waste statute), and Oil Pollution Act.  Since 2006, he has served as Region 6’s Water Branch Chief.

As Water Branch Chief, McDonald provides legal advice and policy recommendations to the Regional Counsel, Regional Administrator, Division Directors, and client programs. He also assists with the interpretation and application of federal and state laws, regulations, policy, guidance, and various federal environmental statutes.

In his presentation, McDonald explained that stormwater runoff impacts both water quality and water quantity by introducing multiple pollution sources with various pollutants that affect aquatic habitats and stream flows. Urban sources of stormwater runoff range from construction, residential, industrial, and urban development, and pollutants can include trash, sediment, pathogens, metals, naturally or artificially occurring nutrients, oil, and grease. Stormwater from urban sources impairs rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries.

To combat all these problems, McDonald described the Clean Water Act’s pollution permitting program known as the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, which in the stormwater context, helps to regulate pollution from industrial, construction, and municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). MS4s are conveyances or a system of conveyances owned by a state or local entity that discharge into “waters of the US.”

As an example of an enforcement action involving the NPDES and MS4 programs, McDonald described a case in which Exide Technologies, a battery recycling plant that operated in Frisco, TX. He described how after Exide allowed its permit to lapse in 2006, the company continued to operate without attempting to renew. Following a plant inspection in 2010, EPA inspectors discovered significant hazardous substances flowing from the plant to a nearby creek and lake. As a result of its violation, Exide was penalized by the EPA and TCEQ (which implements the NPDES and MS4 programs in Texas for EPA) and eventually had to shut down. McDonald noted that while the closure had an economic impact on the community, EPA and TCEQ’s obligations were to protect that community’s health, as well as the environment.  He recalled that because of the extensive contamination, the land on which the plant sat required extensive decontamination and demolition of all buildings, machinery, equipment, and the smelter, as well as removal of soil and backfilling.

When considering his law school experience, McDonald recalled that he only had one environmental law course available to him.  He strongly urged students interested in environmental law-related careers to take as many environmental courses as possible in order to develop a broad knowledge base of the field.  He also noted that taking several environmental courses can also increase the chances of a candidate being selected for an EPA attorney position.