Opinion ID: 382652
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Federal Water Pollution Control

Text: 2 One scar on America's record of technological and economic progress has been the pollution of its air and water. After several ineffective legislative responses to the pollution problem, 1 Congress passed the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act), Pub.L.No. 92-500, 86 Stat. 816 (current version at 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1376 (1976 & Supp. I 1977)), to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. H.R.Rep.No. 911, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. 71 (1972), reprinted in 1 Cong.Research Serv., A Legislative History of the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, at 758 (1973) (hereinafter cited as Legislative History). Congress established a goal of eliminat(ing) the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States by 1985 and . . . achiev(ing) water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water to be achieved by 1981. Id. 3 To reach this goal, Congress has established strict limitations on the discharge of effluents into the nation's waterways. 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311-1328. 2 Congress has created the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to enforce the limitations. Anyone wishing to discharge effluent into a waterway needs an NPDES permit, which limits the amount and types of pollutants which may be discharged into an affected waterway. 4 Congress also has enlisted the states in the battle against water pollution. Recognizing the primary responsibilities and rights of States to prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution, id. § 1251(b), Congress has let states assume the regulatory duties. A state may apply to the EPA to take responsibility for licensing under the NPDES all discharges into navigable waters 3 within its boundaries. If the state program meets certain requirements, see id. § 1342(b); 40 C.F.R. § 123.1-.62 (1979), 4 the Agency approves the program and suspends its own NPDES licensing program in that state. 33 U.S.C. § 1342(c). The Agency continues to receive copies of applications for NPDES permits and retains the power to veto state NPDES permits. Id. § 1342(d). It may waive this notice requirement, however, id. § 1342(e), and the responsibility for supervising state programs, id. § 1342(d) (3). Congress in this scheme thus placed on the states the burden of administering and approving NPDES applications. 5