Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Federal water pollution legislation dates back to the turn of the century, to
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, although the Clean Water Act stems from
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which was originally enacted in
1948 to protect surface waters such as lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. That act
was significantly expanded and strengthened in 1972 in response to growing
public concern over serious and widespread water pollution problems. The
1972 legislation provided the foundation for our dramatic progress in reduc-
ing water pollution over the past several decades. Amendments to the 1972
Clean Water Act were made in 1977, 1981, and 1987.
The Clean Water Act focuses on improving water quality by maintain-
ing and restoring the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the
nation's waters. It provides a comprehensive framework of standards, tech-
nical tools, and financial assistance to address the many stressors that can
cause pollution and adversely affect water quality, including municipal and
industrial wastewater discharges, polluted runoff from urban and rural
areas, and habitat destruction. The Clean Water Act requires national per-
formance standards for major industries (such as iron and steel manufac-
turing and petroleum refining) that provide a minimum level of pollution
control based on the best technologies available. These national standards
result in the removal of over a billion pounds of toxic pollution from our
waters every year.
The Clean Water Act also establishes a framework whereby states and
Indian tribes survey their waters, determine an appropriate use (such as rec-
reation or water supply), then set specific water quality criteria for various
pollutants to protect those uses. These criteria, together with the national
industry standards, are the basis for permits that limit the amount of pol-
lution that can be discharged to a water body. Under the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), sewage treatment plants and indus-
tries that discharge wastewater are required to obtain permits and to meet
the specified limits in those permits.
Note:
The Clean Water Act requires the USEPA to set effluent limitations.
All dischargers of wastewaters to surface waters are required to obtain
NPDES permits, which require regular monitoring and reporting.
The Clean Water Act also provides federal funding to help states and
communities meet their clean water infrastructure needs. Since 1972, fed-
eral funding has provided more than $66 billion in grants and loans, pri-
marily for building or upgrading sewage treatment plants. Funding is also
provided to address another major water quality problem—polluted runoff
from urban and rural areas.
Protecting valuable aquatic habitat—wetlands, for example—is another
important component of this law. American waterways have suffered loss
and degradation of biological habitat, a widespread cause of the decline in
