Difference between revisions of "Clean Water Act"
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| + | “Point source” refers to any “discrete conveyance” which includes but is not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, landfill leachate collection system, concentrated animal feeding operation (“CAFO”), or spillway that can transport pollutants into waterways. | ||
| + | “Nonpoint source” (also known as “urban runoff”) is water that drains off of any urban area during both dry weather and wet weather. | ||
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| + | Nonpoint source pollution has been shown to be a leading cause of water pollution in rivers and oceans and is a frequent cause of beach closures. In response to this problem, the CWA was amended in 1987 to require medium and large municipalities to obtain National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permits for storm water discharges. | ||
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Revision as of 16:39, 26 August 2010
CLEAN WATER ACT
Water quality is of the utmost importance to the beach-going public, and maintaining it is one of the major goals of the Surfrider Foundation. The Clean Water Act is the national law most applicable to water quality, and was created by Congress to help maintain and protect the nation’s waters for drinking, swimming, fishing, and surfing.
The Clean Water Act (“CWA”) is one of the most important environmental laws in the county, and one that Surfrider deals with on an almost daily basis. In 1972, Congress promulgated the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, which was renamed the Clean Water Act in 1977. The Act was passed in order to protect, “restore, and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity” of the United States’ surface waters.[1] By placing regulations on sources of water pollution, the Clean Water Act attains and maintains a level of water quality that supports the “protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife” and “recreation in and on the [United States’] waters.”[2] In an effort to control water pollution, the CWA outlaws discharge of pollutants from any “point source.”
“Point source” refers to any “discrete conveyance” which includes but is not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, landfill leachate collection system, concentrated animal feeding operation (“CAFO”), or spillway that can transport pollutants into waterways.
“Nonpoint source” (also known as “urban runoff”) is water that drains off of any urban area during both dry weather and wet weather.
Nonpoint source pollution has been shown to be a leading cause of water pollution in rivers and oceans and is a frequent cause of beach closures. In response to this problem, the CWA was amended in 1987 to require medium and large municipalities to obtain National Pollution Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permits for storm water discharges.