Regulated Rivers - Hydro-Environmental Analysis: Freshwater Environments - page 71

result can be a reduction in the recharge of rivers and streams so that, as will be discussed else-
where, the mean low lows are reduced over time. One mitigation practice in some areas, such as
the Mississippi Delta, has been to supplement or augment river lows from other sources to maintain
some minimum low low.
3.6 INTRODUCTION TO U.S. WATER LAW
One of the factors largely affecting regulated rivers is the laws and regulations under which they are
regulated. These laws may impact water and water availability and use either directly or indirectly.
For example, the availability and use of water within a state is usually a state rights issue, while
federal laws and regulations impacting the authorized purpose of reservoirs and navigable water-
ways within that state also impact the availability of water. As discussed in Chapter 1, the process
impacting the availability of water can be described by the hydrologic cycle, a holistic framework,
while the management of water is often based on typically fragmented and disconnected laws and
regulations, such as those treating surface water and groundwater separately. The following sections
will provide some background on the existing laws and regulations.
3.6.1 f ederaL w ater L awS
Typically federal laws do not deal directly with water supply. Instead, they may deal with speciic
issues such as water excess (e.g., protection from looding), navigation, human health, water quality,
and other issues that indirectly impact water supply. Exceptions include laws for water use to fulill
the designated uses of federal lands, including military reservations, national parks, and Indian
reservations.
The typical process is that Congress passes laws that are subsequently assigned to some agency
for implementation. That agency then has the responsibility for developing regulations to implement
the law. The agency drafts regulations and posts them in the Federal Register for review. Following
revision, the agency posts the inal rules in the Code of Federal Regulations. The agency would then
enforce the regulations. Following lawsuits, these regulations can be reviewed by the federal courts
and, in some cases, overturned where the court determines that the agency did not properly interpret
the intent of the law.
The agency responsible for developing regulations to implement federal laws is based on the
authorized role and functions of that agency, its legal statutory authority. For example, the autho-
rized civil functions of the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers pertain to (river and har-
bor) commercial navigation, lood and storm damage reduction, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and
related efforts. Water supply is not an authorized function of the Corps. Several statutes also provide
regulatory authority to the U.S. EPA, whose primary responsibilities have evolved to include the
regulation of air quality, water quality, and chemicals in commerce; the development of regulatory
criteria for the management and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes; and the cleanup of envi-
ronmental contamination.
3.6.1.1 CWA
The CWA is a cornerstone law for the protection of surface water quality in the United States. The
law deals primarily with the control of pollutant discharges to waterbodies, so although primarily
targeted at the quality rather than the quantity of water, the low in rivers is impacted by those dis-
charges. For example, the relatively constant lows from wastewater treatment facilities have turned
some ephemeral streams in the arid West into perennial streams.
The stated goal of the CWA is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the nation's waters so that they can support “the protection and propagation of ish,
shellish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water.” The CWA does not deal directly with