The Clean Water Act (FWPCA)

Population growth in the United States soared during the 20th century, with the population more than doubling to 151 million during the period between 1900-1950. With increased population came increased demand for everything from automobiles to rubber duckies, requiring more industrial production, which in turn generated more pollution. The pressing need to conserve and protect our nation’s water resources became ever more apparent to United States policy makers.

The first law passed by Congress in an attempt to combat rampant water pollution was the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ("FWPCA"). This act was finally passed in 1948 and was the culmination of decades of legislative efforts; "Legislators had made numerous attempts… over 100

The CWA altered the FWPCA in a variety of ways. First, the enforcement of the CWA was entrusted to the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), instead of the Surgeon General. This change was beneficial as the EPA is better suited to enforce the CWA because it is made up of scientists and engineers who have more expertise with environmental issues than the Surgeon General. The new CWA also made pollutant discharges into waters illegal, with the exception of certain compliant discharge situations. To be in compliance with the CWA, a discharger of pollutants must acquire a NPDES permit. The NPDES permit includes limits on discharges and additional reporting requirements to help the EPA monitor the possible effect on water quality and

Furthermore, the CWA specifically defined what is considered a “pollutant” under the act: “any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste discharged into water.” This extensive list helped show exactly what was prohibited under the act, providing proper notice to potential polluters. Overall the CWA went further than the FWPCA to combat rampant water pollution by making it explicitly illegal to discharge pollutants into waterways without a permit, while also giving the governing body, the EPA, more power to effectively enforce the