The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing a revised edition of the U.S. EPA NPDES Permit Writers' Manual, which provides a comprehensive overview of the basic framework of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program and serves as a principal training tool for new state and EPA permit writers. First released in 1996, the revised NPDES Permit Writers' Manual has been thoroughly reviewed and updated to reflect current policy and guidance, address changes to the NPDES program, and include discussions of new EPA program areas, such as the Stormwater Phase II Rule, concentrated animal feeding operations, cooling water intake structures [i.e., Clean Water Act
Section 316(b)], pesticide applications, and vessel discharges.