Water policy weblinks
The following acts affect all of us and the health of our watersheds.
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. It was amended in 1977, as is now commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. The Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions. It also funded the construction of sewage treatment plants under the construction grants program and recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by non-point source pollution. Over the years, many laws have changed parts of the Clean Water Act.
For more information go to River Network's http://www.cleanwateract.org
National Environmental Policy Act 1970
"To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation..." The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 is the foundation of federal efforts to protect the environment. The Act requires all federal agencies to examine the need for, alternatives to and environmental consequences of all major proposed federal actions. NEPA requires federal agencies to disclose the environmental effects of their proposed actions and to include the public in their decision making.
The Safe Drinking Water Act was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources. The Act authorized the EPA to establish safe standards of purity and required all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with health standards. State governments, which assume this power from the EPA, also encourage attainment of secondary standards (nuisance-related). To find out information about your drinking water, go to the following website and select your county. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/mi.htm
National and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968
Congress created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In October of 1968, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act pronounced, It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.