The Clean Water Act Of 1972 (CWA)

Emmett Prescott

The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA) was originally the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. The original objective behind this act was to “to prepare comprehensive programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.” (U.S Fish and Wild Life Service, 2013). Throughout the duration of this paper the various amendments and their effects will be discussed, those involved both on the side of support and opposition and what influenced the amendments to be made and passed.

Many amendments were passed to alter the Federal Water Pollution Control Act so it could better maintained, implicated, and effectively better for

This amendment stated, “The objective of this Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. The Administrator shall, after careful investigation, and in cooperation with other Federal agencies, State water pollution control agencies, interstate agencies, and the municipalities and industries involved, prepare or develop comprehensive programs for preventing, reducing, or eliminating the pollution of the navigable waters and ground waters and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters ” (U.S Senate, 2002) Under this amendment, the “Clean Lakes Program.” And “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.” Were established. This Amendment is where the vast majority of debate is fostered. Section 404 addresses “permits for dredged or fill material” and

Kenneth Schiff wrote an editorial for the Marine Pollution Bulletin in 2014 where he asked environmental scientist about the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. Three topics were discussed to support their approval; The Cuyahoga River, Platform A and declines in marine life. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio had hit a point 1969 where there was so much oil on the surface of that it caught on fire and now it has been deemed as fishable by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, thanks to the Clean Water Act. Platform A was located in Southern California. In 1969, an explosion occurred, causing 100,000 barrels of oil to devastate beaches along the Pacific Ocean and kill thousands of animals located in this region. Also discussed was the effects of hazardous substances, in this example DDT, on marine life. The use of this pesticide caused brown pelicans and California sea lions to experience intense decline in population- thanks to the Clean Water Act being followed by much research, restrictions and bans were able to be placed on these chemicals, allowing these populations to flourish once more. Within this editorial, there is also many who state that this Act has not been effective enough. One big argument is that the EPA has a list of pollutants that has not changed since the 1970’s yet in the last 40 years, there has