Clean Water Act
The incidents of the mid-1960’s involving the U.S. Public Health Service,
President Lyndon B. Johnson to declare the Potomac “a national disgrace”, and the
formation of the Water Quality Act, prompted Congress to enact the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act Amendment of 1972 or more commonly named the Clean Water
Act. This Act established the structure for the regulation of pollutants released into the
waters of the United States. This focus was on the “point sources”, such as the pipes
emptying into streams from industries. These discharges would require a state or EPA
permit.
The original 1965 Water Quality Act, which focused on the water quality
standards, was put into one section of the Clean Water Act. At that time, officials
concentrated on the visible point sources but nowadays the focus is on the regulatory
efforts against water pollution.