ABSTRACT
The Clean Water Act (CWA), enacted in 1972, was adopted to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation's water". To that end, the Act prohibits discharging pollutants into navigable waters except in compliance with the statute. The CWA led to the establishment of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a permitting system which establishes specific discharge limits for each permitted wastewater treatment facility, including industrial, commercial and public sources of wastewater.
