The Clean Water Act 20 Years Later

by Adler, Robert W.; Landman, Jessica C.; Cameron, Diane M.

• ISBN13: 9781559632652
• ISBN10: 1559632658
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-10-01
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

Enacted over two decades ago, the Clean Water Act was intended to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." Responsibility for implementing the Act has fallen on EPA, several interstate agencies, the fifty states, and thousands of local governments. How can the success of such a wide-ranging statute be judged?
The authors explore the many and varied issues associated with the complex subject of water quality protection in this assessment of the successes and failures of the Clean Water Act over the past twenty years. In addition to examining traditional indicators of water quality, the authors consider how health concerns of the public have been addressed and present a detailed look at the ecological health of our waters. Taken together, these measures present a far more complete and balanced picture than raw water quality data alone.
As well as reviewing past effectiveness, the book includes specific recommendations for the reauthorization of the Act. This balanced and insightful account will surely shape the debate among legislative and policy experts and citizen activists at all levels who are concerned with issues of water quality.

Table of Contents

Preface: Why a Book on the Clean Water Act?
A Clean Water Retrospective	p. 1
The Need for Clean Water	p. 5
The Impetus for the Clean Water Act	p. 5
The Vision of the Clean Water Act	p. 6
The Need to Meet the 1972 Goals	p. 10
The State of Our Waters Twenty Years Later	p. 13
Traditional Measures of Pollution and Water Quality	p. 14
Human Health Still Threatened	p. 29
Aquatic Species and Ecosystems in Jeopardy	p. 58
The Economics of Clean Water	p. 87
Economic Values of Water Resources	p. 88
Economic Losses Due to Water Resource Degradation	p. 96
Paying for Water Resource Protection	p. 108
Assessing Clean Water Act Programs	p. 117
The Need for Improved Standards, Monitoring, and Communication	p. 119
Water Quality Standards	p. 119
Inadequate Monitoring and Public Information	p. 129
The Elusive Zero Discharge Goal	p. 137
Regulatory Structure for Industry and Sewage Treatment Plants	p. 137
National Treatment Standards Limited and Outdated	p. 138
Permit Program Deficiencies	p. 150
Enforcement Deficiencies	p. 166
Virtually Nonexistent Poison Runoff Controls	p. 171
A Primer on Poison Runoff	p. 172
Runoff Mandates Abandoned or Poorly Implemented	p. 183
Increased Emphasis on Runoff Programs in 1987	p. 185
The New Coastal Runoff Program - Promising but Limited in Scope	p. 191
Protection for Aquatic Resources and Ecosystems	p. 199
State Antidegradation Programs	p. 200
State Water Quality Certification	p. 203
Efforts to Protect Waters from Dredging and Filling	p. 205
Programs to Protect Lakes, Estuaries, Ocean Waters, and Rivers	p. 216
A National Agenda for Clean Water	p. 227
Honing Our Informational Tools	p. 228
Closing the Gaps for Point Sources	p. 232
Preventing Polluted Runoff	p. 241
Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems and Watersheds	p. 242
Funding Programs Adequately and Equitably	p. 254
Notes	p. 259
Acronyms	p. 307
Index	p. 311
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.