Difference between revisions of "Clean Water Act"

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==Recent Court Cases==
 
==Recent Court Cases==
  
'''Rapanos v. United States'''<ref>[http://rcap.org/resource/about-the-clean-water-act/]</ref>
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'''Rapanos v. United States'''<ref>[http://rcap.org/resource/about-the-clean-water-act/ Rural Community Assistance Partnership. [Date unknown]. About the Clean Water Act. [Cited on 04 April 2017]]]</ref>
  
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This 2006 ruling is considered by environmentalists to have weakened the Clean Water Act by (cutting)  eroding the country's water protection by half. John Rapanos was convicted of 2 felonies in the 1980s for converting 54 acres of wetland to a sand filled foundation for a shopping mall. He sued the government in 2006 stating that the Clean Water Act's definition of navigable waters was too vague. While Rapanos' charges were dropped, the Supreme Court was unable to come up with a more confining definition for what "navigable waters" are.
  
 
==Management of Nonpoint Source Pollution==
 
==Management of Nonpoint Source Pollution==

Revision as of 21:34, 4 April 2017

A watershed-related issue examined by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.

This Page is Under Construction

Summary

Passed into law in 1972, the Clean Water Act (CWA) is the principal federal law concerning water quality in the U.S..


History

The CWA is a culmination of previous laws pertaining to water quality and refuse, most of which had limited enforceability.

In 1969, the surface of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, OH, which was slick with oil, caught on fire. Though this was not the river’s first fire, it was the first to occur after the birth of the environmentalism movement. The combination of media coverage and a $100 million initiative to decontaminate the Cuyahoga in 1968[1], created a moment of punctuated equilibrium, which pushed policy-makers to take action. The momentum sparked here over environmental degradation led to the re-visioning of both the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Water Quality Act of 1965 into the still active CWA. Ironically, the photo circulated by the media was not the 1969 fire, but the fire before [citation needed].

Previous Federal Laws and Regulations

  • 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act
  • Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948
  • Water Quality Act of 1965

History in California

In 1967, the California State Legislature launched the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to protect water quality and allocate water to farmers and municipalities in a way that maximizes the protection of California state waters[2]. On a local level, there are nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Boards) that implement the State's water quality goals and plans based on each regions geology, hydrology, climate and topography[2].

Previous State Laws and Regulations


Amendments

  • 1977 Amendments
  • 1987 Amendments


Recent Court Cases

Rapanos v. United States[3]

This 2006 ruling is considered by environmentalists to have weakened the Clean Water Act by (cutting) eroding the country's water protection by half. John Rapanos was convicted of 2 felonies in the 1980s for converting 54 acres of wetland to a sand filled foundation for a shopping mall. He sued the government in 2006 stating that the Clean Water Act's definition of navigable waters was too vague. While Rapanos' charges were dropped, the Supreme Court was unable to come up with a more confining definition for what "navigable waters" are.

Management of Nonpoint Source Pollution

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution has historically been more difficult to manage than point source (PS) because it comes from more than one entity and is often dispersed over vast areas of land [citation needed]. As NPS runoff from stormwater, agriculture and industry traverses impervious street surfaces and compacted farm lands, it absorbs salts and oils, fertilizers, insecticides, and heavy metals that are ultimately carried diffusely into surface bodies of water[4]. This diffuseness has and continues to present the challenge of determining which group(s) should bear the financial burden of remediation.

Federal NPS Management Agencies

  • Environmental Protection Agency

Management of Nonpoint Source Pollution in Callifornia

The two main agencies in charge of creating California’s NPS management plan are the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Coastal Commission. After the introduction of Section 319 in 1987, these agencies developed the NPS plan using a watershed-based approach[5]. A watershed-based approach considers the entire expanse that water travels within a given area, from where rain falls to where rivers or streams flow into larger water bodies, when making policy and management decisions[6].

State NPS Management Agencies

  • State Water Resources Control Board
  • California Coastal Commission


Section 303(d)

Under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, states are required to list impaired waterways. An impaired waterway is a waterway in which the pollution control methods set in place are insufficient to maintain or achieve appropriate water quality standards. The state uses water quality data to determine if waterways meet water quality standards. For each waterway listed as impaired under Section 303(d), the state is required to establish a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). TDMLs determine the daily loading capacity for each individual pollutant for a waterbody such that the waterway will meet the standards for that pollutant.[7]. The 303d list of Impaired Waterbodies in the Monterey Bay Region is a resource for more information on the status of local water ways.


Section 319

The mission of the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program, established by the 1987 amendments, is to assist the development and management of NPS projects at a local level. Grant money is made available to tribes, territories, and states conducting a variety of project, such as those involving demonstration projects, education, technical assistance, transfer of technology, etc...[8]

Central Coast 319 Projects

Section 319 Projects in the Central Coast[9], [10], [11].
Year Title Location
1998 - 1999 Carr Lake Salinas Valley - Carr Lake
2000 - 2001 Monterey Bay Regional Marketing Initiative Monterey County
2001 - 2004 Demonstration Farm & Outreach Program Central Monterey Bay
2010 Riparian Fencing Reduces Bacterial Levels and Improves Habitat in Tributary to National Estuary San Luisito Creek
2011 - 2016 Morro Bay Agricultural Water Quality Enhancement Program Morro Bay
2013 - 2016 Rural Roads Erosion Control Assistance Project Santa Cruz County
2016 - 2019 Pajaro Watershed Livestock and Land Program Santa Cruz County
2017 - 2020 Strawberry Certification Program Pajaro, Lower Salinas and Santa Maria/Oso Flaco watersheds

References

  1. Rotman M. 2016. Cuyahoga river fire. Cleveland Historical
  2. 2.0 2.1 Environmental Protection Agency. [Date unknown. Water Quality Standards Regulations: California. [Cited on 03 April 2017]]
  3. Rural Community Assistance Partnership. [Date unknown. About the Clean Water Act. [Cited on 04 April 2017]]]
  4. [Withgott J. 2010. Environmental science: your world, your turn. Student edition. Pearson.]
  5. State Water Resources Control Board. 2015. Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Plan: policies and plans. [Cited on 02 April 2017]
  6. Texas A&M University. [Date unknown. Watershed approach to water quality management [Cited on 02 April 2017]]
  7. EPA Section 303
  8. 319 Grant Program for States and Territories
  9. [CCRWQCB Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. 2011. Completed Grants/Programs. [Cited on 04April 2017]]
  10. [http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/about_us/docs/success/san_luisito_creek.pdf Jones A., Kitajima A. 2010. Riparian Fencing Reduces Bacterial Levels and Improves Habitat in Tributary to National Estuary. Central Coast Water Board and Morro Bay National Estuary Program
  11. Central Coast Water Board. FY 15-16. Grant Projects Managed by Region 3. [Cited on 04 April 2017


Links


Disclaimer

This page may contain students's work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.