The Clean Water Act was created to solve some of our nation's water pollution problems. It set up guidelines for the quality of waters in the US. Since it became a law, the CWA
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Communications Workers of America is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members. CW…
What was the goal of the Clean Water Act?
- Clean, safe drinking water;
- Wildlife protection;
- Safe water for swimming; and
- Long-term environmental benefits.
What were the provisions of the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act, with the new toxics provisions of 1977, provides controls over dispersal into the Nation's waters of those toxic substances which continue in use — and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 provides similar controls over disposition of toxics-laden solid wastes, including municipal sewage sludge.
What are the provisions of the Clean Water Act?
The 1972 amendments:
- Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States.
- Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
- Maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters.
What were the effects of the Clean Water Act?
- Surface ozone levels have dropped by over 25% since 1980.
- Mercury emissions have been reduced by 45% since 1990.
- The two key pollutants responsible for acid rain – nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide – have been reduced by 46% and 71% respectively, since 1980.
What was the goal of the 1977 Clean Water Act?
The 1977 Clean Water Act continues the national goal of eliminating the discharge of pollutants into our water. It was not easy legislation to enact. The amendments to the Act took two years of hard work by Congress to develop. But we have reached an important turning point in our struggle for clean water.
How many changes were made to the Clean Water Act of 1977?
The Clean Water Act of 1977 has fulfilled that promise--and it also maintains the original promise of the clean water for the American people. More than seventy changes were made in the existing law. Most enhance the ability of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to deal with complex water pollution problems.
What is the new non-conventional pollutant category?
The new non-conventional pollutant category created by the 1977 Act will include all those pollutants which have yet to be determined either toxic or conventional.
What were the three categories of pollutants in the 1977 Act?
First, the concept of uniform application of the requirement to install the best available technology by 1983 was broadened by the creation of the three categories of pol lutants--conventional, non-conventional, and toxic pollutants .
What is the role of the Environmental Protection Agency?
Congress has given the Environmental Protection Agency further control over non-conventional pollutants suspected of toxicity by recognizing its responsibility to assure that such pollutants do not pose an "unacceptable risk to human health or the environment...".
When was the pollution deadline extended?
An extended deadline of April 1, 1979, is established for those industries acting in "good faith" in trying to comply with a July 1, 1977, deadline. However, as many as half of those who have failed to comply with pollution requirements may have done so because of a lack of good faith or a lack of interest in the success of the program.
Can non-conventional pollutants interfere with water quality?
However, waivers from best available technology can be obtained if industry can provide proof that such non-conventional pollutants will not interfere with the attainment or maintenance of the national water quality standard, that is, water quality assuring protection of public water supplies, and the protection and propagation of a balanced population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and allow recreational activities, in and on the water.
What is the Clean Water Act?
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act, is one of the most important and far-reaching environmental statutes ever passed by the U.S. Congress. It is still one of the most controversial pieces of legislation ever passed. More than 30 years since its passage, key provisions of the act continue to be debated at all governmental levels, and lawsuits frequently are brought to federal courts under the act. To understand why the Clean Water Act remains controversial, it is necessary to review the history of the legislation, its goals, and its methods of achieving those objectives.
Why is the Clean Water Act stalled?
Also known as the Section 404 Program, the 1972 act declared a federal interest in the protection of all wetlands in the United States. It set up a complex regulatory program administered jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA under which anyone planning to dredge, drain, or fill a wetland must first secure a permit from the Corps.
How did the EPA clean up waterways?
The EPA also took steps toward cleaning up polluted waterways and regulating nonpoint source pollution in 2000. The agency introduced new rules that encouraged individual states to identify dirty waterways and establish standards to help eliminate sources of pollution. The states were required to come up with a maximum amount of pollution that each waterway could absorb. This measurement was known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Then the states had to decide which local landowners or businesses needed to reduce their pollution levels to meet the TMDL. The states were also required to evaluate future development plans near the waterways to make sure they would not increase pollution levels.
Why is the EPA reluctant to step in?
Most states have lacked the resources to undertake this task, and the EPA has been reluctant to step in and assume responsibility, in part because it, too, lacks the necessary personnel to do the job nationwide. Consequently, since the late 1980s, citizen groups have filed more than forty lawsuits in thirty-eight states against the EPA and the states for failing to implement the TMDL requirement. During the Clinton administration, the EPA attempted to strengthen the enforcement of this program, but with the change in the presidency after the 2000 election, that proposal has been tabled. As with the wetlands issue, scholars and other interested parties note that the time has come for the U.S. Congress to revisit the Clean Water Act of 1972.
What was the 1972 Act?
To assist local governments in meeting these deadlines, the 1972 act also provided for a generous federal grant program to construct modern treatment facilities. Indeed, much of the nation's water quality infrastructure was built in the 1970s, and an issue for today's politicians in Washington, D.C., is whether to make a similar investment in bringing an aging system up-to-date. The EPA has estimated that it could cost as much as $140 billion to accomplish that objective.
What is the EPA's strategy?
In order to make as much progress as possible in cleaning up the nation's waters in a short period of time, the EPA embarked upon what is called a "technology-forcing" regulatory strategy. That is, the agency placed rigorous and rigid demands on those who were regulated by the statute — mainly municipalities and industries at first — to achieve increasingly higher levels of pollution abatement. Industries were told to install the "best practicable control technology" by 1977, and municipalities were told to achieve secondary treatment of their wastewater by that date.
What was the difference between the original act and the 1987 revision?
Another important distinction between the original act and the 1987 revision was in its emphasis on the sources of water pollution in the United States. Prior to 1987 most programs were directed at eliminating what is called point-source pollution: that is , discharges into water that are more or less easily tracked to their sources. Pipes and other outfalls are examples of point-source pollution.
What was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution?
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping amendments in 1972. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The 1972 amendments:
What was the Clean Water State Revolving Fund?
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.
What are the laws that have changed the Great Lakes?
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.
What amendments established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States?
The 1972 amendments: Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
What is the EPA requirement for 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.
What is the Clean Water Act?
The CWA is the principle law governing pollution control and water quality of the Nation's waterways. The object of the CWA is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters (33 U.S.C. 1251).
When did the EPA change the permit?
On November 30, 2009, EPA issued a modification of the General permit to include the results of a Reasonable Potential analysis, the result of which produced specific water quality-based limits for specific parameters in the produced water effluent for all discharging platforms offshore southern California.
What is the EPA's 301?
Under Sections 301, 302, 304, and 306 of the CWA, the EPA issues technology-based effluent guidelines that establish discharge standards based on treatment technologies that are available and economically achievable. Each EPA Region issues permits that meet or exceed the guidelines and standards.
What is the oil pollution regulation?
Originally published in 1973 under the authority of Section 311 of the CWA, the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation sets forth requirements for prevention of, preparedness for, and response to oil discharges at specific non-transportation-related facilities.
Does the EPA regulate offshore oil and gas?
The EPA regulates all waste streams generated from offshore oil and gas activities, primarily by general permits. The EPA may not issue a permit for a discharge into ocean waters unless the discharge complies with the guidelines established under Section 403 (c) of the CWA.