The Clean Water Act In The United States

However, by the 1890s it was clear that this was a problem which was becoming worse. To deal with these challenges the Metropolitan Sewage Commission began to monitor the quality of water and disposal of waste. They surveyed the New York Harbor and determined that it was filled with a black sludge at the bottom. This is the result of years of contamination that built up. In the decades following, they worked to continuously improve these standards and enforce them on the local level. Once the Clean Water Act was passed, is when these standards became common throughout the nation. This law adopted the provisions that were focused on by the Metropolitan Sewage Commission. Most notably: all lakes, rivers, streams and ponds must be fishable. This ensured improved standards for monitoring and increasing the quality of water inside New York City. (Waldman, 2013) (Jarvey, 2006)

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (P.L. 80-845, 62 Stat. 1155) of 1948 was the first major law enacted by Congress to address the problems of water pollution in the United States (n.d). Legislators created over 100 bills in an attempt to pass legislation over the previous half century, but were not successful. Industrial and urban growth caused by World War II in 1948, led to obvious, notorious pollution of the country's rivers, streams, and lakes, urging Congress to finally address the issue. Unfortunately, the act was not designed well enough to achieve the goals set out to address the issue. It did not ban pollution, only gave limited power to the federal government, and provided an extremely awkward enforcement mechanism. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act was not successful in preventing and reducing water pollution. Pollution continued to increase because of the federal government's inability to require any direct reduction in discharges. As a result, the quality of the nation's waters had no improvement. On the other hand, the act established a popular and political support for pollution control efforts. Congress rewrote the act in 1972 to provide more acceptable protection for the nation's waters. It also established the basic agenda for water pollution control, which was amended by Congress afterwards. Congress made changes to the act six times before rewriting it in 1972.

Have you ever thought when you litter you could be polluting a whole lake! In 1972 Congress passed a law tightening regulations about factories and pollution. Forty-five years later we still are having problems with pollution. Lake Erie was so polluted that “Lake Erie Is Dead” started to appear in headlines of newspapers in 1960. Lake Erie’s name was replaced by “Dead Lake” due to the condition of the lake. In 1972 Lake Erie’s mess inspired the Congress to pass the Clean Water Act. Now in 2017 conditions of Lake Erie has not improved.

Prior to 1948, an assortment of inconsequential laws were in place to govern water pollution. One example of this could be found in the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 under a section titled the Refuse Act. While this was specifically written towards the prevention of dumping materials that may interfere with boating, it did indirectly lessen the pollution of waterways (Digest of Federal Resource Laws 2015). During these times, the ridding of waste into channels of water was viewed as the most practical method. Water pollution was beginning to becoming visibly troublesome, however World War II became a more pressing issue of that time (Berry 1969). After the war ended, the contamination of lakes, tributaries, and rivers, including the Mighty Mississippi, continued to evolve as a health and environmental hazard.

The Great Society also improved the quality of life with the growing public awareness of the air pollution prompted the Clean Air Act of 1963 and The Clean Water Act of 1966, which set federal guidelines for reducing smog preserving public drinking

The first step taken towards solving the water crisis issue was back in 1974 with the Safe Drinking

These cleanups are required by federal and state laws passed in the last two decades mostly in response to public concern that drinking contaminated ground water may cause cancer or other illnesses. The laws require that, in most instances, the contaminated ground water be restored to a condition that meets state and federal drinking water standards. Businesses and government agencies paying for the cleanups are calling for reconsideration of whether returning all contaminated ground water to drinking water standards is a realistic goal. At the same time, public interest groups are advocating maximum protection of the public's right to a safe water supply in places where there is

In the article, “Water Pollution: A Surefire Story in Your Community,” from IRE Journal, Robert Mcclure, investigates waterways that were supposedly “cleaned up” by the federal government. Factories and large businesses are the main contributors to water pollution in seas and oceans. The Clean Water Act was supposed to help clean oceans and ocean fronts from pollution and polluters, but the act was never initiated. Mcclure mentions that “The result today: Beaches, streams, and bays across the country are not being protected enough for people to safely swim and fish there” (1). He has performed many studies, starting with a Statewide look of investigation of water pollution. In his research, he revealed, “all the factories, sewage treatment plants and other

on asserted that he was “not a crook. I’ve earned everything I got.” With the

The exponential growth of human population, caused an unprecedented problem for the global ecosystem. (Carolina EcoKits, 2012) The increase in pollution brought upon great fear and concern about what types of contaminants were in the foods and water supply for citizens. In 1977, the Clean Water Act was passed, the act ensured that any release of pollutants at toxic levels into any water source was forbidden. (Carolina EcoKits, 2012) It allowed for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set guidelines and standards for how pollutants were emptied in navigable waters. (Carolina EcoKits, 2012)

This was serious. Tons of locals could not use the water for hydration, bathing, water sports, washing clothes and pets, etc. So the Clean water Act was established. Too many pollutants including waste from sewers, phosphorus, fertilizers and pesticides were leaking into river. The Clean Water Act controls the amount of industrial dumping. Soon after that, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was in motion to decrease the amount of accessing pollutants. The agreement was between Canada and the United States to protect the Great Lakes. This process was a million dollar clean-up to improve monitoring water quality and the sewer system.

The outcome of interest in this study is the passage of the Water Rule under the Obama administration. This is the dependent variable as it defines the parameters for the Clean Water Act. These parameters include navigable waters used for commerce, and its tributaries that pass Justice Kennedy’s significant nexus test. The adoption of this definition is proof that a change in policy occurred that gave clear parameters to federal jurisdiction of which waters are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) founds the elementary structure for regulating releases of contaminants into the water bodies of the US and also for surface waters it regulates quality standards. The origin of the CWA was passed in 1948 and was named the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, then the Act was suggestively reorganized and prolonged in 1972. as "Clean Water Act" this became the Act 's communal name after amendments in 1972.Further down to CWA, EPA has applied other pollution control agendas such as for industry, the setting wastewater standards. We similarly have set some water quality standards for all pollutants in surface waters.

Enacted in 1972, the Clean Water Act was formulated with the goals of putting the end to the discharging of high quantities of contaminated materials into water resources, and further prevent pollution of water , and making sure that surface waters met the standards needed to support human and agricultural usage. Essentially, the Clean Water Act stipulates the fundamental structure used in the regulation of discharges of toxic pollutants into water resources of the US and ensuring conformance of quality standards for groundwater (Environmental Protection Agency). The Clean Water Act was draws based on the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, which was later developed and revised in 1972 to the Clean Water Act. Under the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to implement programs to control pollution example being the establishment of standards for wastewater discharge for various industries. In addition, the CWA establishes the water quality standards applicable to all groundwater contaminants. The Clean Water Act makes it illegal to unload any contaminant material from a point source into navigable water bodies without acquiring permit from EPA. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program, under the EPA, helps in controlling discharges (Environmental Protection

in an effort to solve problems, which can be seen with the Clean Water Act.