What Event Led To The Clean Water Act Of 1977

Our nation'southward commitment to protect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our waters began in 1899 with the Rivers and Harbors Deed. It furthered in 1948 with the establishment of the Federal Pollution Control Act and then transformed into the Make clean Water Human activity in the 1970s. In the past few decades, the Clean Water Human activity has improved the wellness of rivers, lakes, and littoral waters throughout the United States. Considering the law could modify in the coming years, we're taking some time to explore the history of the Clean Water Act: how information technology came into being and how it's been altered in the past.

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History of the Clean Water Deed

1948

The history of the Clean Water Deed begins with its predecessor, the Federal H2o Pollution Control Act of 1948, which was the beginning major law to address water pollution in the United States. Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this law created a fix of comprehensive h2o quality programs and provided some financing to state and local governments.

1972

In the years following the introduction of the Federal H2o Pollution Control Act, the American public became more than concerned near controlling h2o pollution. In the early 1970s, ii-thirds of the nation's lakes, rivers, and coastal waters were unsafe for fishing or pond, and untreated sewage was dumped into open water (source). Extensive, wide-ranging amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Act occurred in 1972, and because the law had changed so drastically, its name soon shifted every bit well. Information technology became commonly known past the name that endures to this day, the Make clean Water Act.

The 1972 amendments accomplished all of the following:

Established a system to regulate pollutant discharges into the waters of the U.S.
Granted the EPA the potency to implement pollution control programs
Retained existing requirements to set h2o quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters
Prohibited the belch of a pollutant from a point source into navigable waters unless the person obtains a permit nether the constabulary's provisions
Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants
Recognized the importance of planning when tackling critical problems caused past non-point source pollution

THE 1980S

In the 1980s, the law was modified further. The EPA made the municipal construction grants process more efficient in 1981, which assisted treatment plans built under the program. A few years afterward, in 1987, the EPA phased out the construction grants program and replaced it with the Make clean Water State Revolving Fund, which developed existing EPA-country partnerships to address water quality issues.

Recent YEARS

In the past few years, the definition of "waters of the U.s.," a disquisitional term used in the Clean Water Human action, has been upwards for contend. From the 1970s to the 1990s, most federal courts and agencies interpreted a broad scope of jurisdiction for the Clean Water Act (source). In the early 2000s, the Supreme Court held that the scope must be interpreted more narrowly, and in 2015, the EPA released a dominion on the definition, but this was met with opposition. Currently, agencies must proceed to operate as they did prior to the 2015 Rule until the rule's applicability engagement, February 20, 2020. This gives the agencies fourth dimension to reconsider the definition of "waters of the United states."

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Do you need help achieving or maintaining compliance nether the Clean Water Act or some other plan, such every bit the Clean Air Human action, RCRA, DOT, EPCRA, or Oil Pollution Deed? Contact Environmental Works, a full-service ecology consulting and contracting business firm. We have a well-established working relationship with local, state, and federal regulatory agencies as well as enduring expertise in the surface area of regulatory compliance. To learn more about our services, please give u.s. a call at 417-890-9500 or contact united states of america online.