The Clean Water Act of 1973
The clean water act of the late 1900's was a desperately needed action that would save hundreds of thousands of lives and improve the united states. This act will help shape out the united states and help clean up our big mess. ''Toxic chemicals were discharged from more than 1,900 waterways in all 50 states.'' Said Justin miller from the EPA. The Ohio river ranked first for toxic discharges in 2007 followed by the Mississippi . U.S. legislation enacted in 1972 to restore and maintain clean and healthy waters. The work was very treacherous and took a long time to accomplish.In the late sixties people noticed that our waters were very unhealthy
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However the ban would be very hard to produce since companies would not just give up a good place to store waste. However the amount of stuff in the water was very high and it needed to be cleaner. Because of this the United states government decided to create a ban that would prohibit the act of dumping lethal toxins into the water. There has not been major revision to the clean water act since 1987, and many feel an comprehensive redo of accomplishments and failures is long overdue. The reason that such has been stalled in congress for so long is the original 1972 act contained a few highly controversal programs, the most would probably be the wetlands program. In conclusion, The Clean water act was a well needed act that would save thousands of lives and help shape out America.It helped clean our rivers streams and also lakes. If it wasn't for the clean water act our country would be the most dirty and polluted country in the world aside from China and India. ''The act saved wildlife and also American people for that we should preserve our water ways so that history doesn’t repeat itself.'' said George McGovern
Water pollution before the Gilden Age greatly impacted public health, but it was often ignored until progressives pushed for change. Sewage was the biggest factor in water pollution, and it “was primarily a public health problem, but it also damaged private property, recreation and fisheries”. The lack of waste disposal caused many people to be infected with diseases which led to progressive policies being formed to fix the issue of water pollution. In 1899, The Rivers and Harbor Act was passed which prohibited the discharge of waste into navigable waters, and the sanitation of water greatly improved after epidemiologists found the negative effects of waste disposal. The improvement of the sanitation of water impacted public health by decreasing deadly outbreaks of diseases like cholera.
The Flint water crisis has been a well known life-threatening issue for nearly three years, and yet has still not been solved. The problem began in April, 2014, when the city of Flint, Michigan switched their water supply to the Flint River in order to save money. Almost immediately after the switch of water source, residents complained about the quality of water, while city and state officials denied the possibility of an issue for months. As time went by, the supply pipes had corroded and lead began making its way into the water supply, potentially endangering the Flint population, as high blood lead levels are especially harmful to children and pregnant women, and can cause “learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and mental retardation,”
Policies like the Water Quality Act of 1965, the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, and the Wilderness Act of 1964 were all done under the Great Society plan. Johnson’s environmental focus led to the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) under Richard Nixon and the subsequent creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
On October 29, 1987, the LDEQ and WPCD posted signs and issued an advisory to the public against swimming in the lake and consuming fish and other aquatic organisms from the lake. In 1993 the NPDES permit allowing the discharge of treated wastewater to the north end of Devil’s Lake was changed to discharge directly to the Mississippi River, see Figure 4
After watching the movie, “The Return of Cuyahoga River” I was blown away by all of the history, facts, ignorance, and activism displayed in this film. There was so much information packed into this documentary. Information about this 100-mile long river that curves north and then south as it u’s along Lake Erie, and how in “1827 U.S. citizens changed the Cuyahoga River for the first time.” It was originally a swampy marsh infested with mosquitos and caused problems for the city of Cleveland Ohio. Cleveland was a small lazy town until the mouth of the river was widened by humans allowing for mercantile boats to pass by their town.
There was also the Nation Environmental Justice Advisory Council that was put into place because of Riis’s efforts. “It also became an important predecessor the muckraking journalism that took shape in the United States after 1900”(The) which was another major movement. Jacob Riis made campaigns in order to make the water fresher because they were not in a state where people could drink it. “State officials were forced to take actions that would clean the
(191) Similarly in 1970, President Nixon started a series of four annual messages he sent to congress regarding the basis of his environmental program. The first message sent called for a new comprehensive water quality legislation for wastewater treatment facilities. Another asked for an extension on water quality programs run by the government to all navigable waters and a national enforcement program. (188) Due to these requests, congress enacted the
The Acts helped reduce the amount of PCBs, raw sewage, and mercury in the lake. The creation of both Acts proves that pollution in the
In the 1800s, the first national debate occurred over the idea of damming Hetch Hetchy. The two sides include Preservationists who wanted to preserve Hetch Hetchy and Conservationist who believed that we should take advantage of the resources Hetch Hetchy provides. This created conflicts between the Conservationists and the Preservationists over the thought of building a dam in Hetch Hetchy. However, the Preservationists ultimately failed to convince Congress to stop the damming of the Hetch Hetchy due the ability to make money off the reservoir and the resources Hetch Hetchy provides that would benefit the people of San Francisco. This is proven through several of documents written by Gifford Pinchot and John Raker, San Francisco District
All of this pollution is making it hard to keep people safe considering the water is unsafe to drink or even swim in. Factories using the water do not know that the water is
Drinking water sources have been contaminated with explosive methane, as well as other dangerous substances, such as benzene and arsenic, that can cause cancer and other serious illnesses. Toxic chemicals, as well as erosion and runoff from drilling operations, have fouled
The Clean Water Act was first introduced in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but in 1972 it was restructured and expanded. Since they began, the EPA has created wastewater standards for companies that create contaminants. In order to help regulate these discharges of pollutants, the EPA 's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System created a permit
The Clean Water Act of 1977 was an important and controversial environmental regulation the United States Congress had passed. As the modification to the Federal Pollution Control Act of 1972, the Clean Water Act of 1977 is the most important federal law that protects the sanitation of water, which includes lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. The Clean Water Act’s main goal is to restore and maintain pure water for the nation and to stop the releasing of harmful pollutants in water. It was also created to reach water quality levels that are safe for animals and human beings.
This landmark symposium made the introduction of the federal government involvement in environmental regulation. In 1955 congress passed its first environmental legislation which was upheld and supported strongly by the public and improved science. After this huge merge the United States environmental protection Agency and the effective public policy toward the environmental were instituted. (Usepa,
Intro: Water pollution has caused so many problems to our waterways that no one really knows how to help. Water pollution caused; dead zones, oil spills, garbage floating around, and unsafe drinking water. People disagree about water pollution because, people have found ways to improve and help out the problem that water pollution has caused around the world. Others believe that that water pollution has created situations and are in the process of figuring out solutions. Marine life habitats are getting destroyed, marine life is declining everyday, how and where the garbage is getting into the oceans, and the drinking water is becoming seriously unsafe to drink.