Clean Water Act
Topics: Environment
The U.S. Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a Section 404 permit is obtained under its provisions from the U.S Army Corp of Engineers. S404 permits can be denied if a link is established from the source of the pollution to “navigable waters of the United States,” with wetland areas often serving as intermediaries. Establishing a CWA connection to a proposed development can be helpful in other ways: in some states Army Corps involvement leads to a higher threshold for review by that state. CWA legislation is complicated by the different ways the law intersects with state wetlands protection laws. You will need an environmental lawyer to help you understand these issues.
