The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping amendments in 1972. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). See 33 U.S.C. §1251.
When amended in 1972, the CWA:
• Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States.
• Gave the Environmental Protection Agency (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.
o EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls discharges.
o Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches.
o Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need a NPDES permit;
o Industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters.
• Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program.
• Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution.
Subsequent amendments modified some of the earlier CWA provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-state partnerships.
Over the years, many other laws have changed parts of the Clean Water Act. Title I of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990, for example, put into place parts of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, signed by the U.S. and Canada, where the two nations agreed to reduce certain toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes.
That law required EPA to establish water quality criteria for the Great Lakes addressing 29 toxic pollutants with maximum levels that are safe for humans, wildlife, and aquatic life. It also required EPA to help the States implement the criteria on a specific schedule.
The CWA does not directly address groundwater contamination—which occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. Groundwater protection provisions are included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA).
The Clean Water Act (CWA), as amended in 1972, is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. It established a regulatory framework for reducing pollutant discharges into U.S. waters, including the creation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In Texas, facilities that discharge pollutants directly into surface waters must obtain an NPDES permit. The CWA also set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters and funded the construction of sewage treatment plants. While the CWA does not directly regulate groundwater contamination, other federal laws such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act cover these aspects. Texas, like other states, works in partnership with the EPA to implement the CWA and has its own environmental agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which administers state-specific water quality programs in alignment with federal standards.
