CWA Amendments

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits were based on effluent limitations in a staggered fashion to achieve the goals set forth in the 1983 CWA amendments. The permits are issued to individual wastewater treatment plants to reduce the number of pollutants released into nearby waterways. The permits contain standard conditions applicable to all POTWs, site-specific constraints, compliance monitoring, and reporting requirements. 

Glean Water Act. The Water QuaUty Act of 1987 and Clean Water Act of 1977 amended the Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, and are known collectively as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Their objective is to restore and maintain the integrity of U.S. waters. There are spill prevention, control, and containment requirements with which to comply. It requires replacement of older storage tanks or installation of double bottoms or seals. 

The two main federal agencies involved in the protection of human health and the environment are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). EPA s principal concern is the protection of the environment, in most cases, the area outside of an industrial faciUty. There are 10 regional offices that carry out the regulatory functions of the agency (Table 1). Primary laws covered by EPA are the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and LiabiUty Act (CERCLA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and Eederal Insecticide, Eungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 

The United States has the most laws regarding environmental safety and health. The National Environmental PoHcy Act (NEPA) of 1969 has resulted in the following acts Eederal Insecticides, Eungicide and Rodenticide (EIERA), Resource Conservation and Recovery (RCRA), Superfund (CERCLA), Superfund Amendments and Reauthori2ation Act (SARA) Plus Tide III, Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), Clean Water (CWA), Water Quahty, Safe Drinking Water (SDWA), and Waste Minimi2ation and Control. 

Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) was passed. This act and its various amendments are often referred to as tne Clean Water Act (CWA). It provided loans for treatment plant construction and temporary authority for federal control of interstate water pollution. The enforcement powers were so heavily dependent on the states as... 

Those federal regulations of interest and importance for addressing subsurface environmental issues in chronological order of establishment include the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Resource, Conservation, and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FTFRA), and the Petroleum Safety Act (PSA). These regulations are discussed below. 

Clean Water Act (CWA) was first enacted in 1948 as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Subsequent extensive amendments defined the statute to be known as the CWA in 1972 it was further amended in 1977 and 1987. The CWA provides EPA authority to regulate effluents from sewage treatment works, chemical plants, and other industry sources into U.S. waterways. EPA has recently undertaken control efforts in on-point source pollution as well. 

The U.S. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) in 1972. The act was significantly amended in 1977 and has since become known as the CWA. It was again amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987. The CWA applies to aU industries that generate wastewater discharges. Some of its provisions are particularly applicable to the pesticide industry. 

Section 306(b) of the CWA requires USEPA to promulgate pretreatment standards applicable to the introduction of wastes from industry and other nondomestic sources into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). USEPA issued the General Pretreatment Regulations on June 26, 1978, and amended these regulations several times in the following years (40 CFR pt. 403). 

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) controls the disposal of hazardous waste. SARA Title III governs the toxic inventory and emission reporting the Clean Water Act (CWA) sets the limits for metals that can be present in water discharge and the Clear Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990 control the abatements of all materials in the air. 

CWA (1972). Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act). Public Law 92-500 (October 18), 86 Stat. 816, as amended (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington). 

Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) (as amended through P.L. 107-303, November 27, 2002). Available from http //www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/cwa.html accessed 23 June 2009. 

Federal Water Pollution Control Act In 1948, the original Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) was passed. This act and its various amendments are often referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA). It provided loans for treatment plant construction and temporary authority for federal control of interstate water pollution. The enforcement powers were so heavily dependent on the states as to make the act almost unworkable. In 1956, several amendments to the FWPCA were passed that made federal enforcement procedures less cumbersome. The provision for state consent was removed by amendments passed in 1961, which also extended federal authority to include navigable waters in the United States. 

In 1987, the CWA was extensively amended. The amendments also set up programs to reduce polluted runoff from non-point sources, such as city streets, farm land, and mining sites. 

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