Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act (CWA) was created in 1972 with the mission of "protecting all waters of the United States."  Although the CWA is often viewed as the first major U.S law to address water quality, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the actual first.  The Act was amended in 1972 and the CWA was officially established.   

The specific amendments  included: 

• Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. 
• Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. 
• Maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. 
• Made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. 
• Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program. 
• Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by non-point source pollution. 

The CWA still plays a major factor today for Milwaukee waterways.  Point-source pollution was deemed unlawful and this was an important step in reducing pollution in rivers/lakes.  Milwaukee RiverKeeper today works to make sure that the CWA and other laws that protect Milwaukee waterways are strictly followed.  The Milwaukee RiverKeeper website even has a link that allows the public to report any pollution that is found throughout the region.  Reporting pollution to Milwaukee RiverKeeper using the specific river name and closest street crossing, as well as providing a picture of the pollution, allows the information to be passed along to the EPA.  The Milwaukee RiverKeeper website also provides the contact information for the DNR spill hot-line in case of an emergency like an oil or sewage spill.  The Milwaukee RiverKeeper shows that advocating for the compliance of the CWA can be effective in reducing and preventing river pollution, but what about other waterways?  How can the CWA be amended to protect our waterways even more effectively?   In our class we often discuss the importance of words and how certain laws or topics are worded.  The CWA is no exception and this has caused wetlands, lakes and streams to be put at risk of pollution.  Two examples of the wording of the CWA being loosely interpreted by the Supreme Court include: Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC) (2001) and Rapanos vs. United States (2006).  These are two examples of the CWA being weakened and limiting what waterways are protected under the CWA. The link below details what a weakened CWA could mean for Wisconsin.   

http://www.nwf.org/pdf/State-Fact-Sheets/Wisconsin_WeakeningTheCleanWaterAct.pdf 

What can be done to maintain the strength of the CWA?  

The National Wildlife Federation website details a potential change to the CWA that was proposed on March 25, 2014 by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers.  This rule proposes to restore protection to all of the tributaries of waters already covered by the Clean Water Act, and all of the  wetlands, lakes, or other waters within or adjacent to the floodplains of these tributaries.  While this proposal would be an improvement, many waterways would still remain unprotected (Carolina bays, vernal pools, playa lakes).  Even though many of these waterways aren't abundant in Milwaukee, it does bring up an important fact that ALL UNITED STATES WATERS are important and need protection in order to fully combat river pollution.  Creating a more concrete definition of "U.S waters" will reaffirm the importance and effectiveness of the Clean Water Act.

Sources:
http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Protect-Habitat/Waters/Clean-Water-Act.aspx
http://milwaukeeriverkeeper.org/
http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/history-clean-water-act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_bay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_Waste_Agency_of_Northern_Cook_County_v._Army_Corps_of_Engineers