Pros And Cons Of The Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act was created by the government in 1972 to protect and place supervisions on the waters of the United States, due to the large amounts of pollution dumped into lakes, rivers, streams, and other coastal waters. Before the Clean Water Act, there were no restrictions placed on wastes being dumped into waterways, as well as pollution caused by nearby industries. The amount of pollutants in the waters were putting habitats and the wildlife that live there in danger, and effecting the drinking quality of the water (National Wildlife Federation). This act has been amended many times since its establishment in 1972, in order to make improvements. Though this act has immensely protected the United States’ waters and habitats, it has created more work for dischargers and has disadvantages such as costs and infringement on property rights (Intellectual Takeout 12).
Through the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency places restrictions on contaminants that can be discharged. In order to discharge pollutants into a waterway, one must get a permit from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, also known as …show more content…
In 1974, The Safe Drinking Water Act was created, and then amended in 1996. This act created chemical guidelines on any water that could potentially be ingested by the public. This act makes it mandatory for companies that have public water systems, and individuals who have personal wells, to abide by the chemical guidelines set by the EPA (Intellectual Takeout 5). Another amendment that was formed after the Clean Water Act was passed, is the Oil Pollution Act. This amendment has established a fund, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to pay for the cleanup and resources needed after an oil spill. It has also enhanced the country’s overall approach to reacting to oil spills in a timely matter, as well as avoiding oil spill accidents