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| History | Introduction | Other Links |
| Electronic Clean Water Act "Snapshot" | Finding Updates | |
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. It gave 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 nonpoint source pollution.
Subsequent enactments modified some of the earlier Clean Water Act provisions. Revisions in 1981 streamlined the municipal construction grants process, improving the capabilities of treatment plants built under the program. Changes in 1987 phased out the construction grants program, replacing it with the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund, more commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. This new funding strategy addressed water quality needs by building on EPA-State partnerships.
Over the years, many other laws have changed parts of the Clean Water Act. Title I of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990, for example, put into place parts of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, signed by the U.S. and Canada, where the two nations agreed to reduce certain toxic pollutants in the Great Lakes. That law required EPA to establish water quality criteria for the Great Lakes addressing 29 toxic pollutants with maximum levels that are safe for humans, wildlife, and aquatic life. It also required EPA to help the States implement the criteria on a specific schedule.
The electronic version of the Clean Water Act (available below) is a thirtieth anniversary snapshot of the law, as amended through the enactment of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-303, November 27, 2002). Provided by the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, it is the amended law as of that particular point in time. This electronic version annotates the sections of the Act with the corresponding sections of the U.S. Code and footnote commentary on the effect of other laws on the current form of the Clean Water Act.
For a brief introduction to the Clean Water Act, please visit the Watershed Academy's Web-based training module called, "Introduction to the Clean Water Act."
A "snapshot" of the Clean Water Act provisions, as expressed in the amended law, is available in its entirety or by Title from the listings below in Portable Document File (PDF) format. This version depicts the law as of November 27, 2002.
Clean Water Act
(Sections 101-607)
[File: ecwa.pdf (537 KB,
230 PDF pages)] 
Title I -
Research and Related Programs
(Sections 101-121)
[File: ecwa_t1.pdf
(112 KB, 46 PDF pages)]
Title II -
Grants for Construction of Treatment Works
(Sections 201-221)
[File: ecwa_t2.pdf
(98 KB, 40 PDF pages)]
Title III
- Standards and Enforcement
(Sections 301-320)
[File: ecwa_t3.pdf
(228 KB, 96 PDF pages)]
Title IV -
Permits and Licenses
(Sections 401-406)
[File: ecwa_t4.pdf
(70 KB, 28 PDF pages)]
Title V -
General Provisions
(Sections 501-519)
[File: ecwa_t5.pdf
(45 KB, 17 PDF pages)]
Title VI -
State Water Pollution Control Revolving Funds
(Sections
601-607)
[File: ecwa_t6.pdf
(20 KB, 6 PDF pages)]
For more recent amendments to this law, search the Thomas website of the Library of Congress. You can also find the full body of law, organized in chapters arranged by topic, in the U.S. Code. (Because laws do not appear in the U.S. Code immediately after they are passed, we recommend that if you are searching the U.S. Code, you should also search Thomas for laws that have not yet been codified.)
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