IV 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 113 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

Act Amendments of 1972, commonly known as the ‘‘Clean Water Act’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 14, 2022 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. 

BEYER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Federal Water 

Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, commonly 

known as the ‘‘Clean Water Act’’. 

Whereas the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly 

known, and referred to in this resolution, as the ‘‘Clean 

Water Act’’) is one of the most important environmental 

laws in the United States and the Nation’s principal safeguard against pollution, degradation, and destruction of 

surface waters, including streams, rivers, wetlands, and 

lakes; 

Whereas implementation of the Clean Water Act has resulted 

in progress towards the objective of the legislation to ‘‘restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 

integrity of the Nation’s waters’’ by— 


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(1) significantly reducing water pollution; 

(2) substantially improving the quality of tens of 

thousands of waterbodies; and 

(3) dramatically reducing the rate of wetlands loss; 

Whereas, despite the improvements brought about by implementation of the Clean Water Act, failure to fully achieve 

the intended goals of the Clean Water Act are due to— 

(1) changes to interpretation of the Clean Water 

Act, which have weakened protections for the Nation’s 

waters; 

(2) lack of adequate and equitable investments in 

clean water infrastructure and funding to implement and 

enforce the Clean Water Act; and 

(3) weak and inequitable enforcement and implementation of critical provisions of the Clean Water Act; 

Whereas, as the United States embarks on the next 50 years 

of the Clean Water Act, Congress envisions— 

(1) expanded access to clean water for every community by— 

(A) protecting waters with cultural, historical, 

spiritual, and religious significance; 

(B) ensuring that rivers, streams, and other 

waterbodies are fishable and swimmable and serve as 

safe and reliable sources of recreation, drinking 

water, and subsistence; 

(C) restoring and safeguarding waterways and 

wetlands that provide vital fish and wildlife habitat 

and protect communities from floods and droughts; 

and 

(D) making healthy shorelines, waterfronts, and 

water-related recreation available and welcoming to 

all; 


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•HCON 113 IH 

(2) prioritizing affordable clean water investments 

for underserved and economically disadvantaged communities that have, historically, been most harmed by pollution; 

(3) providing incentives for natural infrastructure 

and nature-based solutions; 

(4) building climate resiliency and mitigation of climate impacts into the Nation’s water infrastructure; 

(5) supporting robust, transparent, and meaningful 

community engagement and community-led solutions and 

decisionmaking, including meaningfully incorporating the 

perspectives and solutions of Tribal communities; 

(6) ensuring affordable clean water services for all; 

(7) protecting and restoring ecosystems by— 

(A) eliminating harmful algal blooms, algal toxins in drinking water supplies, and ‘‘dead zones’’ by 

reducing inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus from the 

most significant sources; 

(B) preventing destruction and degradation of 

remaining wetlands and restoring and protecting 

wetlands across the country; 

(C) restoring all waters, especially the most polluted waterways and waterways in the communities 

most impacted by pollution; 

(D) incorporating climate change science and 

modeling and indigenous knowledge into planning 

and restoration efforts; 

(E) improving water quality, healthy river 

flows, and groundwater recharge; 

(F) removing outdated infrastructure that is 

adversely impacting the health of waters; and 

(G) supporting significant protected areas and 

free-flowing riverine systems, including components 


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of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 

units of the National Park System, national forests, 

units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and 

components of the National Wilderness Preservation 

System; 

(8) promoting an inclusive, transparent, and equitable approach to policy development, based on the best 

available science, by— 

(A) proactively protecting human health and 

the environment from discharges of harmful pollutants, including new, emerging, and toxic contaminants; 

(B) basing decisions on the most credible climate projections; 

(C) accepting community-sourced and peer-reviewed science as a source of data for decisionmaking related to the Clean Water Act; 

(D) ensuring that all decisions comply with the 

full suite of applicable laws; 

(E) ensuring that States are consistent and 

timely in implementation of the Clean Water Act; 

and 

(F) increasing the reach and accuracy of water 

quality monitoring and assessment by providing 

funding to States, agencies, and other organizations 

conducting such activities; and 

(9) holding polluters accountable through effective 

and consistent enforcement measures, including— 

(A) prioritizing prosecutions of violations of the 

Clean Water Act that have affected underserved and 

economically disadvantaged communities that have, 

historically, been most harmed by pollution; 


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•HCON 113 IH 

(B) ensuring that Federal and State agencies 

carefully, clearly, and equitably apply the requirements of the Clean Water Act; 

(C) providing the resources needed to ensure 

that Federal and State agencies have the capacity to 

effectively implement and enforce the Clean Water 

Act; and 

(D) safeguarding the Nation’s cleanest and 

most pristine waters, including wild and scenic rivers 

and waters in national and State parks, through 

designation as Outstanding National Resource 

Waters: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 

4 enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

5 Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92–500; 86 

6 Stat. 816); 

7 (2) recognizes the historic achievements in im8 proving water quality that have been made during 

9 the 50 years of implementation of the Clean Water 

10 Act; and 

11 (3) recognizes the need to address the short12 comings of the Clean Water Act in restoring and 

13 maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological in14 tegrity of the Nation’s waters, including by— 

15 (A) expanding access to clean water for 

16 every community; 


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1 (B) recognizing that a robust Clean Water 

2 Act is critical for the protection of human and 

3 environmental health, for the promotion of 

4 healthy and robust economies, and for main5 taining a healthy quality of life; 

6 (C) increasing clean water infrastructure 

7 investments in communities throughout the Na8 tion and targeting increased and affordable in9 vestments in communities most at risk of con10 tinued pollution; 

11 (D) addressing climate resiliency and miti12 gation of climate impacts on clean water infra13 structure; 

14 (E) promoting an inclusive, transparent, 

15 and equitable approach to Clean Water Act pol16 icy development, based on the best available 

17 science; 

18 (F) holding polluters accountable; and 

19 (G) ensuring the protection and restoration 

20 of rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and natural 

21 ecosystems. 

Æ 


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