Clean
Water Act
source: Environmental Protection Agency
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.
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