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The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and for regulating standards of quality for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. It was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. “Clean Water Act” became the act’s common name with amendments in 1977.

The CWA enables effective control of pollution to surface waters with a variety of regulations that are intended to protect the health of humans and the environment. The CWA is in the news again, this time because of a proposed law that would significantly weaken it. How would this change affect small or rural water/wastewater systems and their customers? This article provides an overview of the creation of the CWA, how the CWA applies to rural communities, and proposed changes to the CWA’s protections.

In the Past

Dumping wastes in a nearby lake, river or stream used to be considered a legitimate use of a natural resource. In 1945, it was reported that more than 3,500 communities pumped 2.5 billion tons of raw sewage into lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Although people were aware that downstream users pulled their drinking water out of the same stream into which they were dumping waste and sewage, it was considered the downstream users’ problem to clean it up.

The few environmental regulations that existed in 1945 were generally applied only to navigable waters, not the small rivers, streams or lakes that often were the source of drinking water in small or rural communities. People knew that water quality continued to worsen as pollution increased but were unable to develop a comprehensive plan to either reduce or stop it, because water is not bound by property or political lines.

After years of debate, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) in 1948. The FWPCA gave individual states most of the responsibility for abating water pollution and encouraged interstate agreements. In addition to preserving state control of waterways, the act limited federal authority to preparing pollution abatement plans and providing support to the states. It did not specifically prohibit current polluting activities, set standards, or limit new sources of pollution.

Because the federal government was not allowed to require any direct reduction in discharges, pollution continued to increase, and the quality of the nation’s waters did not significantly improve. However, the FWPCA established the basic framework for water pollution control. Congress changed the FWPCA six times between 1961 and 1987. The 1977 amendments are called the Clean Water Act (CWA). Our water is much cleaner today because of the actions taken in the past.  But that doesn’t mean that things can’t change for the worse.

What’s Happening Now

HR 2018, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 13. The bipartisan bill was introduced by John Mica (R-Fla.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.V.). Each representative has his own reasons for sponsoring this bill. Mica disagrees with the agricultural runoff limitation in Florida, and Rahall wants to give mining operations in his state a boost. Their proposed legislation would significantly weaken the CWA:

• HR 2018 gives states the right to disagree with revised or new water-quality standards, and if a state disagrees, it has the right to impose less strict standards without the loss of federal environmental funding for that state.  
• If a state approves a discharge to a navigable water, the Environmental Protection Agency cannot override it, no matter what it is.  
• If the state doesn’t agree with dredge/fill limitations, the state can permit any dumping it sees fit.  
•  The states would regulate any sort of piping crossing a stream.  
• Further, HR 2018 states that a loss of more than 100 jobs or a decrease in economic activity of more than $1 million per year should drive water-quality standards (rather than human health effects of contaminants), and that any offsetting gain in jobs from new technology or gain in economic activity cannot be used in the calculations.

What a Weakened CWA Might Mean for Small Water or Wastewater System Operators and Your Customers

If HR 2018 is signed into law, the health of your customers, your water supply, and your recreational waters could be directly affected. (The Obama Administration has said it “strongly opposes H.R 2018 because it would significantly undermine the Clean Water Act and could adversely affect public health, the economy, and the environment.” President Obama would be expected to veto it.) Currently, there are limitations on pollutant discharge based on the health effects the pollutant can cause. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources (such as pipes or manmade ditches) that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit. However, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. But what happens when a state decides to permit a discharger that doesn’t meet EPA standards?

Imagine HR 2018 being law, creating a situation in which you operate a small water treatment system in a state with very protective standards. Pollutants are strictly regulated, your state government is paying attention to citizens’ health, and violators can expect to be heavily fined and forced to clean up their messes. But you live next to a state that has decided to disagree with EPA standards. The neighboring state relies heavily on a metals-based industry to supply the majority of its jobs and has decided to allow dumping of mine and refining waste in the watershed that feeds the water supply in your area. Suddenly there is an influx of metals, cyanide and other contaminants into your water supply.

The health of your customers is at risk. Do you actually know what is being dumped across state lines and entering the watershed? Will your current water treatment be sufficient to protect your customers? How will you find out about new contaminants? Instead of knowing what contaminants your influent water is likely to contain, imagine having to test for every contaminant likely in this watershed. Will your customers have confidence in your treatment?

Your treatment costs go skyrocketing upwards, because, while the CWA has been weakened, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) has not. You have to meet maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) with a water supply that has been newly contaminated, and you have no recourse to make the polluters cease operations or even change where they dump their waste. So your treatment costs, which may include capital changes in your treatment system and disposal of spent treatment materials, are much, much higher. Will your system be able to afford these new costs?

And what will happen to the health of the environment around you? Before the CWA was passed, there were several North American rivers and streams that were entirely dead—not even slugs or leeches could live in them—due to the excessive amount of pollution dumped into them.  There were some rivers (like the Cuyahoga River in Ohio) that were so filled with hydrocarbons that they caught fire. After the CWA was passed in 1977, polluters were forced to clean up their act, and the result is rivers that again contain life. Even the Cuyahoga River has fish again. If the environmental clock is rolled back 34 years, how many rivers will again become lifeless?

For more information:

What does it take to produce clean, safe water? How is wastewater treated?

Two new guides from RCAP that explain the technical parts of producing drinking water and treating wastewater in simple, everyday language for non-technical people. The guides touch on the federal laws and regulations that govern these processes and set standards. Download A Drop of Knowledge: The Non-operators Guide to Drinking Water Systems and A Drop of Knowledge: The Non-operators Guide to Wastewater Systems at www.rcap.org/commpubs.

Webcast seminars from the Environmental Protection Agency
Several recorded seminars on the Clean Water Act, including an introduction to the act.
http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/wacademy/webcasts_index.cfm