07-06-2013, 03:51 PM
Clean Water Act Assignment
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Introduction to the Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States. (The Act does not deal directly with ground water or with water quantity issues.) The statute employs a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory tools to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater treatment facilities, and manage polluted runoff. These tools are employed to achieve the broader goal of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters so that they can support "the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water."
For many years following the passage of CWA in 1972, EPA, states, and Indian tribes focused mainly on the chemical aspects of the "integrity" goal. During the last decade, however, more attention has been given to physical and biological integrity. Also, in the early decades of the Act's implementation, efforts focused on regulating discharges from traditional "point source" facilities, such as municipal sewage plants and industrial facilities, with little attention paid to runoff from streets, construction sites, farms, and other "wet-weather" sources.
Starting in the late 1980s, efforts to address polluted runoff have increased significantly. For "non-point" runoff, voluntary programs, including cost-sharing with landowners are the key tool. For "wet weather point sources" like urban storm sewer systems and construction sites, a regulatory approach is being employed.
Evolution of CWA programs over the last decade has also included something of a shift from a program-by-program, source-by-source, and pollutant-by-pollutant approach to more holistic watershed-based strategies. Under the watershed approach equal emphasis is placed on protecting healthy waters and restoring impaired ones. A full array of issues are addressed, not just those subject to CWA regulatory authority. Involvement of stakeholder groups in the development and implementation of strategies for achieving and maintaining state water quality and other environmental goals is another hallmark of this approach.
Clean Water Act History
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program and recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
Subsequent enactments modified some of the earlier Clean Water Act provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-State partnerships.
Over the years, many other laws have changed parts of the Clean Water Act. Title I of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990, for example, put into place parts of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, signed by the U.S. and Canada, where the two nations agreed to reduce certain toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes. That law required EPA to establish water quality criteria for the Great Lakes addressing 29 toxic pollutants with maximum levels that are safe for humans, wildlife, and aquatic life. It also required EPA to help the States implement the criteria on a specific schedule.
The electronic version of the Clean Water Act (available below) is a thirtieth anniversary snapshot of the law, as amended through the enactment of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-303, November 27, 2002). Provided by the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, it is the amended law as of that particular point in time. This electronic version annotates the sections of the Act with the corresponding sections of the U.S. Code and footnote commentary on the effect of other laws on the current form of the Clean Water Act.
Goals of the Clean Water Act
The goal of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.
The Clean Water Act starts with a set of goals and objectives that are the basis for the entire law and in many cases may be all that a community or a state has to use to improve or protect their favorite body of water.
Interim Goals:
Eliminate discharge of pollutants into the navigable waters by 1985.
Achieve water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water by July 1, 1983.
Prohibit the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amount.
Develop and implement programs for the control of nonpoint sources of pollution in an expeditious manner.
Clean Water Act programs have been developed to meet these goals, and because the programs are implemented primarily at the state level, citizen involvement becomes the most critical part of making the programs work well.