Clean Water

Working for Clean Water

Passed in 1972 in response to a spate of egregious and well publicized water pollution incidents, the Clean Water Act established a series of technology-based pollution standards, set the stage for a comprehensive regulatory program to protect wetlands, and created an ambitious public works program aimed at building or upgrading thousands of municipal wastewater treatment plants. The Act also strengthened the nation’s efforts to prevent and clean oil spills, by establishing mandatory notice requirements, an elaborate scheme for responding to spills, and a spill-prevention program. Although enforcement of the Clean Water Act is often spotty today, it has, over the years, led to significant improvements in water quality across the nation.

Almost half of the nation's waters are still "impaired," which is to say that they are too polluted to support the uses authorities have identified for them – to serve as sources of drinking water, recreational areas, or to support fish and wildlife. Wetlands continue to be lost to pollution and development. Nonpoint source pollution – runoff from farms, construction sites, and roads, for example – is the leading cause of water pollution today, but it is inadequately addressed by the CWA. Industrial facilities, meanwhile, are discharging toxics into sewer systems that then pass into waterways. In addition, the nation's wastewater infrastructure is aging and showing its wear. All the while, enforcement has declined, particularly in the last few years. Since 2001, two Supreme Court decisions – Rapanos and SWANCC – have thrust the CWA into the spotlight, paring back the CWA's protection of wetlands and other waters.

• Redouble monitoring to identify impaired waters, and strengthen controls on pollution affecting those waters;
• Strengthen protections for wetlands, particularly with an eye toward the effects of climate change;
• Beef up protections against “nonpoint source pollution”;
• Hold federal facilities, including the Departments of Defense and Energy, accountable for the pollution they and their contractors create;
• Amend the Clean Water Act to undo the damage from Supreme Court decisions narrowing its reach;
• Provide additional funding for water treatment, water quality monitoring, and for federal monitoring and enforcement; and
• Develop “green” infrastructure as a means to mitigating stormwater pollution.

• Clean Water in the 21^st Century. Read The Clean Water Act: A Blueprint for Reform (4 meg download), by CPR Member Scholar William Andreen and CPR Policy Analyst Shana Campbell Jones, published June 2008 (CPR White Paper 802).  Or read the Executive Summary (CPR White Paper 802ES).
• The Rapanos Case. Read William Buzbee's August 1, 2006 testimony before the Fisheries, Wildlife and Water subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Professor Buzbee's topic: the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in the Rapanos case for efforts to protect America's waterways from polluters. Read his April 16, 2008 testimony on the Clean Water Restoration Act, and how it would repair the damage from the Court’s decisions.
• A CPR Perspective.  CPR Member Scholars have authored articles on related topics, as part of the CPR Perspectives Series. These include Perspectives on TMDLs and Nonpoint Source Pollution and Wetlands.
• Maryland Water Standards. Read "Maryland Water Standards a Quarter Century Late and Counting," by Rena Steinzor, published December 15, 2004 on the Center for American Progress website.
• State Water Quality Failures. CPR Member Scholar Clifford Rechtschaffen's "Enforcing the Clean Water Act in the Twenty-First Century: Harnessing the Power of the Public Spotlight," examining state budget and staff shortages for Clean Water Act enforcement. (October 2004) Or read "States Fail to Ensure Water Quality," by Clifford Rechtschaffen, published November 17, 2004 on the Center for American Progress website.
• EPA Enforcement. Read testimony by Rena Steinzor on the Bush EPA's poor record of enforcing the Clean Water Act, September 16, 2003. Read the news release.
• Trading Programs. Read testimony by Rena Steinzor on water quality trading programs. (July 2002)