Clean Water Act 1972
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing
water pollution.
Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the symbolic goals of eliminating
releases to water of high amounts of toxic substances,
eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and
ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for human sports and
recreation by 1983. The principal
body of law currently in effect is based on the Federal Water
Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, which
significantly expanded and strengthened earlier legislation.[2] Major amendments were
enacted in the Clean Water Act of 1977 enacted
by the 95th United States Congress[3] and the Water Quality Act of 1987 enacted
by the 100th United States Congress.