What is The Clean Water Act ?
Gowing national public awareness of environmental issues, including water pollution, spearheaded the passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act by Congress in 1972. This act was amended in 1977 and is now known as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act initially regulated all “end of pipe” or “point” discharges to navigable waterbodies of the United States under a permit system. Amendments in 1987 authorized measures to address nonpoint pollution sources, like stormwater. Our nation’s waters have improved since the implmentation of the Clean Water Act as direct discharges to US waters were regulated. However, nonpoint sources of pollution like stormwater still present a problem. The 2002 Water Quality Inventory reported that 45 percent of the nation’s rivers and streams are impaired or not clean enough to support their designated uses and 32 percent of bays and estuaries are impaired. Sediment, pathogens, and habitat alterations were identified as the leading causes of impair
