The_Clean_Water_Act_of_1972

The Clean Water Act of 1972 As the people of the county started to become more aware of and concerned about water pollution, the government brought into action the Clean Water Act of 1972. It was created to regulate pollution in waterways in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented the act to control pollution: setting standards for contamination in surface water. The Clean water act has made it illegal to discharge any pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. The EPA works with the federal, state, and tribal regulatory partners to monitor the act to protect human health, wildlife, and the environment. The act also protects valuable wetlands and other aquatic habitats. The act provides a framework of standards, technical tools, and financial assistance to create clean water infrastructure needs. Each of the fifty states has their own Clean Water Revolving Fund to assist them financially to improve water quality, renew wastewater infrastructure, and support local economies. Before the act originally went into place there was no control over the discharge of toxic pollutants into America’s rivers and streams. Since the act came to be, the EPA has worked to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, providing assistance to publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment, and maintaining the integrity of wetlands.” [ (Introduction to the Clean Water Act, 2008) ] Sources Introduction to the Clean Water Act. (2008, September 8). Retrieved November 18, 2011, from Watershed Academy Web: http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy/acad2000/cwa/