ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on point sources because that they are the principal focus of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 dramatically changed the landscape for water pollution permitting, monitoring and enforcement providing the framework for the standards now enforced in the United States. The CWA prohibits the discharge of a pollutant from a point source into the navigable waters of the United States without a permit. States are required by the CWA to periodically assess water bodies to determine if they meet water quality standards. Permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System is the primary method of regulating discharges under the CWA. The states' role in implementing CWA regulations primarily focuses on enforcement and implementation of the federally established effluent standards. The CWA includes a very robust set of enforcement tools, allowing both government and citizens to contribute to implementation of the law.
