THE CLEAN WATER ACT AT 50: REQUIEM OR RESURRECTION?

• Date: 22 June 2022
• Author: Walker, Skye M.
• Published date: 22 June 2022
• Author: Walker, Skye M.

Fifty years ago, Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 (later known as the Clean Water Act) in response to a disturbing public health issue: egregious pollution of U.S. waterbodies. The Cuyahoga River fire of 1969, among other events, generated national concern over water quality and set in motion a new regulatory era. Indeed, the Clean Water Act (CWA) has been a powerful driver of point source pollution reduction; many waterways once ridden with oilsoaked debris, fecal coliform, and waterborne contaminants--such as the Cuyahoga--are now fishable and swimmable by CWA standards.

Yet, at its fiftieth anniversary, the landmark law has fallen short. Until recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to meaningfully consider environmental justice in CWA administration, and the CWA has been relatively ineffective at addressing non-point source pollution. Likewise, EPA has done little to regulate modern threats to water quality like "contaminants of emerging concern" and plastics. Scholars grappled with...