Explain the provisions of the 1965 Water Quality Act and how those provisions underscored the need for federal standards. What was the result of the need for federal standards?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The 1965 Water Quality Act required each state to submit measurable standards for water quality to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (after 1970, to the Environmental Protection Agency) for approval. These standards were to be translated into specific effluent standards, meaning, for example, that an industry would release only so many tons of pollutants per month. It was anticipated that the states would enforce the standards. Because states were competing with one another to attract industries, however, those that adopted more stringent water quality standards were at a disadvantage. Thus, standards tended to converge on the lowest common denominator and states rarely, if ever, enforced them. The federal government, in turn, did little to encourage more vigorous enforcement by the states and nothing at the federal level to enforce them. It became clear that the states had little incentive to enforce pollution standards to clean up their own water and that more effective national standards would be required. The 1972 Clean Water Act developed national standards for water quality. It established national deadlines for all streams to be fishable and swimmable. It also required that all private concerns were to adopt the “best practicable technology” by 1977 and the “best available technology” by 1983. The Clean Water Act also established a nationwide discharge system enabling the EPA to monitor compliance with technology requirements.