33 U.S.C. § 1292
Section 1292 · Definitions
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 25 court decisions — leading case Environmental Protection Agency v. California Ex Rel. State Water Resources Control Board (1976)
Most recently applied in Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards v. A & G Coal Corp. (July 2014)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
As used in this subchapter—
The term “construction” means any one or more of the following: preliminary planning to determine the feasibility of treatment works, engineering, architectural, legal, fiscal, or economic investigations or studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, field testing of innovative or alternative waste water treatment processes and techniques meeting guidelines promulgated under section 1314(d)(3) of this title, or other necessary actions, erection, building, acquisition, alteration, remodeling, improvement, or extension of treatment works, or the inspection or supervision of any of the foregoing items.
The term “treatment works” means any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature to implement section 1281 of this title, or necessary to recycle or reuse water at the most economical cost over the estimated life of the works, including intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, sewage collection systems, pumping, power, and other equipment, and their appurtenances; extensions, improvements, remodeling, additions, and alterations thereof; elements essential to provide a reliable recycled supply such as standby treatment units and clear well facilities; and acquisition of the land that will be an integral part of the treatment process (including land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems prior to land application) or will be used for ultimate disposal of residues resulting from such treatment and acquisition of other land, and interests in land, that are necessary for construction.
In addition to the definition contained in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, “treatment works” means any other method or system for preventing, abating, reducing, storing, treating, separating, or disposing of municipal waste, including storm water runoff, or industrial waste, including waste in combined storm water and sanitary sewer systems. Any application for construction grants which includes wholly or in part such methods or systems shall, in accordance with guidelines published by the Administrator pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, contain adequate data and analysis demonstrating such proposal to be, over the life of such works, the most cost efficient alternative to comply with sections 1311 or 1312 of this title, or the requirements of section 1281 of this title.
For the purposes of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the Administrator shall, within one hundred and eighty days after October 18, 1972, publish and thereafter revise no less often than annually, guidelines for the evaluation of methods, including cost-effective analysis, described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
The term “replacement” as used in this subchapter means those expenditures for obtaining and installing equipment, accessories, or appurtenances during the useful life of the treatment works necessary to maintain the capacity and performance for which such works are designed and constructed.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
2014—Par. (2)(A). Pub. L. 113–121 struck out “any works, including site” before “acquisition of the land”, substituted “will be used for ultimate” for “is used for ultimate”, and inserted “and acquisition of other land, and interests in land, that are necessary for construction” before period at end.
1981—Par. (1). Pub. L. 97–117 inserted “field testing of innovative or alternative waste water treatment processes and techniques meeting guidelines promulgated under section 1314(d)(3) of this title,” after “procedures,”.
1977—Par. (2)(A). Pub. L. 95–217 inserted “(including land used for the storage of treated wastewater in land treatment systems prior to land application)” after “integral part of the treatment process”.
Effective Date of 2014 Amendment
Pub. L. 113–121, title V, § 5012(c), June 10, 2014, 128 Stat. 1328, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 1362 of this title] shall take effect on October 1, 2014.”