Clean Water Act

Growing public awareness of water pollution and concern for controlling it led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. After being amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act, which established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters. It gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to implement pollution-control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act continued requirements to set water-quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters, making it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also provided billions of dollars for the construction of sewage treatment plants under a construction-grants program and recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by non-point source pollution. Subsequent laws modified some of the earlier Clean Water Act provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction-grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction-grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water-quality needs by building on EPA-state partnerships. Other provisions in the 1987 revisions created programs to protect estuaries and focused attention on urban runoff issues. For many communities, funding through the Clean Water Act facilitated needed construction of wastewater treatment centers both for community health and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT potential. When businesses look to create or relocate production facilities, wastewater treatment infrastructure is often a necessary component in those decisions.