The 1972 statute frequently uses the term “navigable waters” but also defines the term as “waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” Some regulations interpreting the 1972 law have included water features such as intermittent streams, playa lakes, prairie potholes, sloughs and wetlands as “waters of …
What type of water does the Clean Water Act protect?
The Clean Water Act is a U.S. federal law that regulates the discharge of pollutants into the nation’s surface waters, including lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and coastal areas.
What does the Clean Water Act of 1972 do for our water?
(1972) The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. … Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
Who does the Clean Water Act protect?
In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to protect all “waters of the United States.” For 30 years, both the courts and the agencies responsible for administering the Act interpreted it to broadly protect our Nation’s waters.
What 3 things did the Clean Water Act do?
✓ The goal of the Clean Water Act was to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters. ✓ The interim goals of the Clean Water Act were to achieve “fishable and swimmable” waters by 1983, and eliminate all discharges of pollutants into navigable waters by 1985.
What are the two types of Clean Water Act permits?
There are two types of NPDES permit, individual and general. An individual permit is issued to a single discharger to cover site-specific conditions and are issued directly to the individual discharger. General permits are written and issued to cover multiple dischargers with similar operations and types of discharges.
What were the results of the Clean Air Act?
Today, as in the past, the Clean Air Act continues to cut pollution and protect the health of American families and workers. Fewer premature deaths and illnesses means Americans experience longer lives, better quality of life, lower medical expenses, fewer school absences, and better worker productivity.
What did the Clean Air Act do?
The Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) is a comprehensive Federal law that regulates all sources of air emissions. The 1970 CAA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment.
How important is the Clean Water Act?
The Clean Water Act has protected our health for more than 40 years — and helped our nation clean up hundreds of thousands of miles of polluted waterways. But Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 threw protections into question for 60 percent of our nation’s streams and millions of acres of wetlands.
Does the Clean Water Act still exist?
Section 401 of the Clean Water Act gives states and tribes the power to block federal projects that harm lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands within their borders. … The administration repealed the Clean Water Rule and is now attempting to undo the landmark 1972 Clean Water Act.
How old is the Clean Water Act today?
Its implementing regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. Subchapters D, N, and O (Parts 100-140, 401-471, and 501-503). Technically, the name of the law is the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
…
Clean Water Act.
| Effective | October 18, 1972 |
| Citations | |
|---|---|
| Public law | 92-500 |
| Statutes at Large | 86 Stat. 816 |
| Codification | |
What changes were made to the 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 authority to implement pollution control programs.
- Retained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters.
What was the main goal of the Water Quality Act?
95-217), this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). 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).