Federal Water Pollution Control Act

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 (FWPCA) (P.L. 80-845) is the first comprehensive statement of federal interest in clean water issues. The FWPCA authorizes the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, in cooperation with other Federal, state, and local entities, to prepare programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters. This statute also authorizes the Federal Works Administrator to assist states, municipalities, and interstate agencies in the construction of treatment plants to prevent discharges into waterways.

The FWPCA provides state and local units of government with funding for technical assistance to address water pollution problems. At this time, water pollution is viewed as a state and local problem so there are no federal requirements or even guidelines. The FWPCA grants the federal government a role in enforcement issues but only when interstate waters are involved and with the consent of the state where the pollution originated (Copeland 1999).

The Water Pollution Control Act of 1956 (P.L. 84-660) and its amendments in 1961 continue to shape federal water pollution programs. These bills address federal assistance to municipal dischargers and with federal enforcement. Throughout this period, the federal role and federal jurisdiction are gradually expanded to include navigable intrastate, as well as interstate, waters (Copeland 1999).

Passage of the Water Quality Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-234) requires states to establish water quality standards establishing water quality goals for interstate waters (USEPA February 2005). Problems arise with these requirements. Enforcement procedures are considered too time-consuming, and the linking of a specific discharger to violations of water quality standards is considered flawed. In addition, it is believed that pollution cleanup efforts are too slow, and that technologies are being developed but not applied to pollution problems.

1966 amendments to the FWPCA, entitled the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966, authorizes the Secretary of Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture and Water Resources Council, to conduct a comprehensive study of the effects of pollution, including sedimentation, in the estuaries of the United States on fish and wildlife, sport and commercial fishing, recreation, and water supply and power. This is the first reference to sedimentation in the FWPCA.

In 1970, Congress creates the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and transfers to it the authority for the functions assigned to the Secretary of the Interior’s Federal Water Quality Administration. USEPA continues to have the responsibility of implementing and enforcing the FWPCA.

But Illinois is ahead of the federal government: the Illinois General Assembly is the first state legislature in the nation to adopt a comprehensive Environmental Protection Act. Governor Richard Ogilvie signs the act, it becomes effective July 1, 1970, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is created with Clarence Klassen as its first director.