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EspañolCLEAN WATER ACT
The 'Clean Water Act', , ''et seq''., began life as the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972. Amendments in 1977 became commonly known as the Clean Water Act.[1] There is also a Clean Water Act of Ontario, Canada [2]. The Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the 'CWA', the act established the symbolic goals of eliminating releases to water of toxic amounts of toxic substances, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and recreation by 1983.
The system for granting and regulating discharge permits is called the 'National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System' (NPDES), which regulates both point and non-point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.
After Congress passed the CWA, the EPA promulgated effluent guidelines that regulate water pollution from 56 industry categories. These regulations apply to between 35,000 and 45,000 facilities that discharge directly to the nation's waters, as well as another 12,000 facilities that discharge into publicly owned treatment works. These regulations are responsible for preventing the discharge of almost 700 billion pounds of pollutants each year.
While the technology-based standards have been largely successful, because they apply to specific sources and are enforceable, the health and water quality-based standards have been much less so. As of 2007, approximately half of the rivers, lakes, and bays under EPA oversight were not safe enough for fishing and swimming.[3] The most important remaining cause of these problems (typically, diffuse runoff from farms, streets, and yards) is known as non-point source pollution, which was not addressed in the original Clean Water Act.
To assist municipalities in creating wastewater treatment plants that were capable of meeting these standards, the CWA established a system to provide federal financial assistance, first in the form of construction grants, which were modified several times and later replaced by the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund in 1987. The Clean Water Act and its regulations also establish pretreatment requirements for industrial users contributing wastes to Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
Other important aspects of the CWA include a variety of enforcement mechanisms, including administrative compliance and penalty orders, civil and criminal judicial remedies, contractor listing, and a citizen suit provision. EPA's enforcement settlement policies, which are relatively sophisticated within the federal government, have promoted environmental auditing and the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects.
Since the Clean Water Act was passed, water pollution has drastically decreased. By the beginning of the 21st Century, waterfront development was a major goal in localities throughout America. 90% of new development in New York State was waterfront development. A member of the North Delaware Riverfront Task Force, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said that "The reduction of water pollution gave new life to many old urban and industrialized areas. Formerly useless land suddenly became highly desirable, and the vision of an East Coast Green way, spanning from Maine to Florida, became a reasonable goal to work towards."
Each state Administrator for the Clean Water Act will give everybody in that state their enforcements and their limitation for the Clean Water Act. If anybody breaks the enforcements or limitation the Administrator of any of these sections which include: 1311,1312,1316,1317,1318,1328 or 1345 to read about their violations that they have broken of the permits that is under section 1342 about the clean water act.
Section 303 of the Clean Water Act establishes the water quality standards and the TMDL programs.
One very important program under the Clean Water Act is EPA's 'Total Maximum Daily Load' Program. A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. Over 60,000 TMDLs are proposed to be developed for US waters in the next decade and a half.
The TMDL is the sum of the allowable loads of a single pollutant from all contributing point and nonpoint sources. The calculation must include a margin of safety to ensure that the waterbody can be used for the purposes the State has designated. The calculation must also account for seasonal variation in water quality.
Water quality standards are set by States, Territories, and Tribes. They identify the uses for each waterbody, for example, drinking water supply, contact recreation (swimming), and aquatic life support (fishing), and the scientific criteria..
Any state that revise or adopt of the water standards must be approved by the Administrator. Also, the Administrator has to renew the water quality standards in order for it to become in the clean water act. When submitted your water quality standards to the Administrator the water has to be from human health awareness so that nobody would get sick from the clean water that is going into the lakes.
Section 404 in the Clean Water Act is one of the most important sections. The term Secretary is referring to the Secretary of the Army action through the Chief of Engineers. 404 states that all permits must be issued by the Secretary. The Secretary will give a notice about the request for permit no later than fifteen days after requested. Although the Secretary makes the decision if the permit is granted or not the Administrator is able to take-away permits if they feel that the permit is no reasonable; before making this decision though the Administrator must consult with the secretary. A permit expires after five years of being granted.
When a State wants a permit, they make sure that all other states being affected are aware they will be sent a copy of the request and the State is able to write a recommendation. A State permit also expires after five years of being granted.
Civil action will be given to any persons who violate any part of their permit. For a first offense, you get at least a $2,500 fine and a max of a $25,000 fine per day that the permit is violated. You may also receive up to a year in jail. On your second offense, you receive a maximum of a $50,000 fine per day of violation.
The 1972 amendment added a whistleblower protection. Employees in the US who believe they were fired or suffered another adverse action related to enforcement of this law have 30 days to file a written complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
On July 25th, 2007, Senator Russell Feingold introduced legislation to reiterate the Congress' objective in passing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 1972. The bill states that it was Congress' intention to protect all waters of the United States. Known as the Clean Water Restoration Act and co-sponsored by 19 Senators, the bill being reviewed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. This is considered by many to be a necessary step towards protecting wetlands, rivers, and lakes from developers and polluters in the face of weakening Supreme Court rulings that have repealed protection for the nations waters up to 60 percent.
★ ''United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc.'', 474 U.S. 121 (1985), upholding the Act's hold in regulating wetlands that intermingle with navagable waters.
★ ''Solid Waste Agency of North Cook County (SWANCC) v. United States Army Corps of Engineers'', 531 U.S. 159 (2001), possibly denying the CWA's hold in isolated intra-state waters and certainly denying the validity of the Migratory Bird Rule.
★ ''S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Bd. of Env. Protection'', 547 U.S. ___ (2006), involving section 401 state certification requirements for federally licensed activities that cause a discharge into navigable waters.
★ ''Rapanos v. United States'', 547 U.S. ___ (2006), in separate controlling opinions questioned the Act's use of the term navigable waters and "waters of the United States" and questioned the reach of the Act to regulate wetlands that possess a "significant nexus" with such waters.
★ ''National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of wildlife'', No. 06-340 (June 25, 2007)[1].
1. http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/cwa.htm
2. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Source/Statutes/English/2006/S06022_e.htm
3. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10231441
★ Great Lakes Areas of Concern
★ Water management
★ Water Pollution Control Act
★ Water supply and sanitation in the United States
★ Wise Use Movement
★ Whistleblower
★ Full text of the act
★ Full text of act with amendments through 2005 - Maintained by California Water Resources Control Board
★ United States Fish and Wildlife Service digest of the Clean Water Act
★ EPA site on TMDLs
★ Tetra Tech Water Resources and TMDL Center
★ The Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies at Virginia Tech
★ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
★ Government Accountability Project
★ National Whistleblower Center
★ Workplace Fairness FAQ for environmental whistleblowers
★ Tate & Renner article on whistleblowers under US federal law
★ Whistleblower Employee Protection Website
★ U.S. Department of Labor Whistleblower Program & information
The system for granting and regulating discharge permits is called the 'National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System' (NPDES), which regulates both point and non-point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States.
After Congress passed the CWA, the EPA promulgated effluent guidelines that regulate water pollution from 56 industry categories. These regulations apply to between 35,000 and 45,000 facilities that discharge directly to the nation's waters, as well as another 12,000 facilities that discharge into publicly owned treatment works. These regulations are responsible for preventing the discharge of almost 700 billion pounds of pollutants each year.
While the technology-based standards have been largely successful, because they apply to specific sources and are enforceable, the health and water quality-based standards have been much less so. As of 2007, approximately half of the rivers, lakes, and bays under EPA oversight were not safe enough for fishing and swimming.[3] The most important remaining cause of these problems (typically, diffuse runoff from farms, streets, and yards) is known as non-point source pollution, which was not addressed in the original Clean Water Act.
To assist municipalities in creating wastewater treatment plants that were capable of meeting these standards, the CWA established a system to provide federal financial assistance, first in the form of construction grants, which were modified several times and later replaced by the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund in 1987. The Clean Water Act and its regulations also establish pretreatment requirements for industrial users contributing wastes to Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
| Contents |
| Enforcement mechanisms |
| Specific targets on water standards |
| Section 404 Permits |
| Whistleblower protection |
| Recent Developments |
| Case law |
| References |
| See also |
| External links |
Enforcement mechanisms
Other important aspects of the CWA include a variety of enforcement mechanisms, including administrative compliance and penalty orders, civil and criminal judicial remedies, contractor listing, and a citizen suit provision. EPA's enforcement settlement policies, which are relatively sophisticated within the federal government, have promoted environmental auditing and the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects.
Since the Clean Water Act was passed, water pollution has drastically decreased. By the beginning of the 21st Century, waterfront development was a major goal in localities throughout America. 90% of new development in New York State was waterfront development. A member of the North Delaware Riverfront Task Force, State Rep. Mark B. Cohen of Philadelphia, said that "The reduction of water pollution gave new life to many old urban and industrialized areas. Formerly useless land suddenly became highly desirable, and the vision of an East Coast Green way, spanning from Maine to Florida, became a reasonable goal to work towards."
Each state Administrator for the Clean Water Act will give everybody in that state their enforcements and their limitation for the Clean Water Act. If anybody breaks the enforcements or limitation the Administrator of any of these sections which include: 1311,1312,1316,1317,1318,1328 or 1345 to read about their violations that they have broken of the permits that is under section 1342 about the clean water act.
Specific targets on water standards
Section 303 of the Clean Water Act establishes the water quality standards and the TMDL programs.
One very important program under the Clean Water Act is EPA's 'Total Maximum Daily Load' Program. A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. Over 60,000 TMDLs are proposed to be developed for US waters in the next decade and a half.
The TMDL is the sum of the allowable loads of a single pollutant from all contributing point and nonpoint sources. The calculation must include a margin of safety to ensure that the waterbody can be used for the purposes the State has designated. The calculation must also account for seasonal variation in water quality.
Water quality standards are set by States, Territories, and Tribes. They identify the uses for each waterbody, for example, drinking water supply, contact recreation (swimming), and aquatic life support (fishing), and the scientific criteria..
Any state that revise or adopt of the water standards must be approved by the Administrator. Also, the Administrator has to renew the water quality standards in order for it to become in the clean water act. When submitted your water quality standards to the Administrator the water has to be from human health awareness so that nobody would get sick from the clean water that is going into the lakes.
Section 404 Permits
Section 404 in the Clean Water Act is one of the most important sections. The term Secretary is referring to the Secretary of the Army action through the Chief of Engineers. 404 states that all permits must be issued by the Secretary. The Secretary will give a notice about the request for permit no later than fifteen days after requested. Although the Secretary makes the decision if the permit is granted or not the Administrator is able to take-away permits if they feel that the permit is no reasonable; before making this decision though the Administrator must consult with the secretary. A permit expires after five years of being granted.
When a State wants a permit, they make sure that all other states being affected are aware they will be sent a copy of the request and the State is able to write a recommendation. A State permit also expires after five years of being granted.
Civil action will be given to any persons who violate any part of their permit. For a first offense, you get at least a $2,500 fine and a max of a $25,000 fine per day that the permit is violated. You may also receive up to a year in jail. On your second offense, you receive a maximum of a $50,000 fine per day of violation.
Whistleblower protection
The 1972 amendment added a whistleblower protection. Employees in the US who believe they were fired or suffered another adverse action related to enforcement of this law have 30 days to file a written complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Recent Developments
On July 25th, 2007, Senator Russell Feingold introduced legislation to reiterate the Congress' objective in passing the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 1972. The bill states that it was Congress' intention to protect all waters of the United States. Known as the Clean Water Restoration Act and co-sponsored by 19 Senators, the bill being reviewed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. This is considered by many to be a necessary step towards protecting wetlands, rivers, and lakes from developers and polluters in the face of weakening Supreme Court rulings that have repealed protection for the nations waters up to 60 percent.
Case law
★ ''United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc.'', 474 U.S. 121 (1985), upholding the Act's hold in regulating wetlands that intermingle with navagable waters.
★ ''Solid Waste Agency of North Cook County (SWANCC) v. United States Army Corps of Engineers'', 531 U.S. 159 (2001), possibly denying the CWA's hold in isolated intra-state waters and certainly denying the validity of the Migratory Bird Rule.
★ ''S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Bd. of Env. Protection'', 547 U.S. ___ (2006), involving section 401 state certification requirements for federally licensed activities that cause a discharge into navigable waters.
★ ''Rapanos v. United States'', 547 U.S. ___ (2006), in separate controlling opinions questioned the Act's use of the term navigable waters and "waters of the United States" and questioned the reach of the Act to regulate wetlands that possess a "significant nexus" with such waters.
★ ''National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of wildlife'', No. 06-340 (June 25, 2007)[1].
References
1. http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/cwa.htm
2. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Source/Statutes/English/2006/S06022_e.htm
3. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10231441
See also
★ Great Lakes Areas of Concern
★ Water management
★ Water Pollution Control Act
★ Water supply and sanitation in the United States
★ Wise Use Movement
★ Whistleblower
External links
★ Full text of the act
★ Full text of act with amendments through 2005 - Maintained by California Water Resources Control Board
★ United States Fish and Wildlife Service digest of the Clean Water Act
★ EPA site on TMDLs
★ Tetra Tech Water Resources and TMDL Center
★ The Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies at Virginia Tech
★ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
★ Government Accountability Project
★ National Whistleblower Center
★ Workplace Fairness FAQ for environmental whistleblowers
★ Tate & Renner article on whistleblowers under US federal law
★ Whistleblower Employee Protection Website
★ U.S. Department of Labor Whistleblower Program & information
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