Understanding the Clean Waters Act
The CWA is the main law regulating surface water quality in the U.S., but it does not cover groundwater or water quantity concerns. Some states have created their own standards for these things. The statute uses different regulatory and non-regulatory methods to reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways greatly, set ambient water quality standards, finance […]
Bill Introduced by Senator Aims to Guarantee Safe Drinking Water in Public Schools
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 1144, the Safe and Efficient Water Act. This bill requires public schools and state agencies to conduct a water quality and efficiency assessment of their facilities. Essentially, this means that all school children in California will have access to clean water – something that far too many […]
Protecting the Waters of the United States
Cities used to dump raw sewage in America’s rivers before the Clean Water Act. Chemical waste was discharged into streams, lakes, and oceans by industrial businesses. More than half of the country’s wetlands were destroyed since at least 1980 when records began. In the past 50 years, thanks to the Clean Water Act, our rivers […]
How Federal Institutions Follow the Clean Waters Act
The main federal law in charge of the improvement and upkeep of our nation’s waters is the Clean Waters Act (CWA). Its primary objective is to stop pollutants from being released into United States waters without a permit. According to CWA 301, it is illegal for anyone to release any type of pollutant into U.S […]
Congress Takes a Look at the Clean Water Funding Formula
The wheels are beginning to turn in Capitol Hill as lawmakers revisit the formula used to divide hundreds of millions of dollars in wastewater infrastructure aid among the states each year. The 1987 Water Quality Act was the starting point for what would become today’s primary federal funding source for wastewater treatment projects: Clean Water […]
