Clean Water Act
What does "Clean Water Act" mean in law?
The Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), formally the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended in 1972, establishes the regulatory framework for discharging pollutants into navigable waters of the United States. The Act's core prohibition, Section 301, makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued under Section 402. Section 404 separately governs the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands and waterways, administered by the Army Corps of Engineers. The CWA sets a national goal of making all waters "fishable and swimmable" and authorizes EPA to establish technology-based effluent limitations and water-quality-based standards, including Total Maximum Daily Loads for impaired water bodies under Section 303(d).
Definition
The Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), formally the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended in 1972, establishes the regulatory framework for discharging pollutants into navigable waters of the United States. The Act's core prohibition, Section 301, makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued under Section 402. Section 404 separately governs the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands and waterways, administered by the Army Corps of Engineers. The CWA sets a national goal of making all waters "fishable and swimmable" and authorizes EPA to establish technology-based effluent limitations and water-quality-based standards, including Total Maximum Daily Loads for impaired water bodies under Section 303(d).
Example
A factory discharging wastewater containing heavy metals into a river must obtain an NPDES permit under the Clean Water Act specifying the maximum allowable concentration of each pollutant in its effluent.