Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Act set the goals of achieving water that is “fishable and swim-
mable” by 1983 and zero discharges of pollutants by 1985, in addi-
tion to prohibiting the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts.
3. In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed, requir-
ing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to establish
national standards for contaminants in drinking water systems,
underground wells, and sole-source aquifers, in addition to several
other requirements (see Section 3.5).
4. In 1984, an alliance of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the
Sierra Club, and others successfully sued Phillips ECG, a New York
industrial polluter that had dumped waste into the Seneca River.
According to the Sierra Club's water committee chair, Samuel Sage,
the case “tested the muscles of citizens against polluters under the
Clean Water Act.” During this same timeframe, the Clean Water Act
Reauthorization Bill drew the wrath of environmental groups, who
dubbed it the “Dirty Water Act” after lawmakers added last-minute
pork and weakened wetland protection and industrial pretreatment
provisions. Grassroots action led to most of these pork provisions
being dropped. That same year also saw the highest environmental
penalty to date—$70,000, which was imposed on Alcoa Aluminum
in Messina, New York (for polluting the St. Lawrence River), as a
result of a suit filed by the Sierra Club.
5. In 1986, Tip O'Neill, Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated
that he would not let a Clean Water Act reauthorization bill on the
floor without the blessing of environmental groups. Later, after the
bill was crafted and passed by Congress, President Reagan vetoed
the bill. Also in 1986, amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act
directed the USEPA to publish a list of drinking water contaminants
that require legislation.
6. In 1987, the Clean Water Act was reintroduced. It became law after
Congress overrode President Reagan's veto. A new provision estab-
lished the National Estuary Program.
7. From 1995 to 1996, the House passed H.R. 961 (again dubbed the
“Dirty Water Act”), which in some cases eliminated standards for
water quality, wetlands protection, sewage treatment, and agricul-
tural and urban runoff. The Sierra Club collected over 1 million sig-
natures in support of the Environmental Bill of Rights and released
“Danger on Tap,” a report that revealed polluter contributions to
friends in Congress who wanted to gut the Clean Water Act. Due in
part to these efforts, the bill was stopped in the Senate.
8. In 1997, the USEPA reported that more than one-third of the country's
rivers and half of its lakes were still unfit for swimming or fishing.
The Sierra Club successfully sued the USEPA to enforce Clean Water
