History of the Clean Water Act | US EPA

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and ... Skiptomaincontent Officialwebsitesuse.gov A.govwebsitebelongstoanofficialgovernmentorganizationintheUnitedStates. Secure.govwebsitesuseHTTPS Alock(LockAlockedpadlock)orhttps://meansyou’vesafelyconnectedtothe.govwebsite.Sharesensitiveinformationonlyonofficial,securewebsites. Laws&Regulations ContactUs HistoryoftheCleanWaterAct QuickLinks PDFofCWA,fromU.S.Senate(234pp,571K,AboutPDF) SummaryoftheCWA TheEPAWatershedAcademy'scoursesrelatedtotheCleanWaterAct. TheofficialtextoftheCWAisavailableintheUnitedStatesCode fromtheUSGovernmentPrintingOffice. TheFederalWaterPollutionControlActof1948wasthefirstmajorU.S.lawtoaddresswaterpollution.Growingpublicawarenessandconcernforcontrollingwaterpollutionledtosweepingamendmentsin1972.Asamendedin1972,thelawbecamecommonlyknownastheCleanWaterAct(CWA). The1972amendments: EstablishedthebasicstructureforregulatingpollutantdischargesintothewatersoftheUnitedStates. GaveEPAtheauthoritytoimplementpollutioncontrolprogramssuchassettingwastewaterstandardsforindustry. Maintainedexistingrequirementstosetwaterqualitystandardsforallcontaminantsinsurfacewaters. Madeitunlawfulforanypersontodischargeanypollutantfromapointsourceintonavigablewaters,unlessapermitwasobtainedunderitsprovisions. Fundedtheconstructionofsewagetreatmentplantsundertheconstructiongrantsprogram. Recognizedtheneedforplanningtoaddressthecriticalproblemsposedbynonpointsourcepollution. SubsequentamendmentsmodifiedsomeoftheearlierCWAprovisions.Revisionsin1981streamlinedthemunicipalconstructiongrantsprocess,improvingthecapabilitiesoftreatmentplantsbuiltundertheprogram.Changesin1987phasedouttheconstructiongrantsprogram,replacingitwiththeStateWaterPollutionControlRevolvingFund,morecommonlyknownastheCleanWaterStateRevolvingFund.ThisnewfundingstrategyaddressedwaterqualityneedsbybuildingonEPA-statepartnerships. Overtheyears,manyotherlawshavechangedpartsoftheCleanWaterAct.TitleIoftheGreatLakesCriticalProgramsActof1990,forexample,putintoplacepartsoftheGreatLakesWaterQualityAgreementof1978,signedbytheU.S.andCanada,wherethetwonationsagreedtoreducecertaintoxicpollutantsintheGreatLakes.ThatlawrequiredEPAtoestablishwaterqualitycriteriafortheGreatLakesaddressing29toxicpollutantswithmaximumlevelsthataresafeforhumans,wildlife,andaquaticlife.ItalsorequiredEPAtohelptheStatesimplementthecriteriaonaspecificschedule. ContactUstoaskaquestion,providefeedback,orreportaproblem.