ASIWPCA Releases Historical Reference on Nation's Clean Water Programs

The Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA) has published a historical reference on the Clean Water Act and State/Interstate efforts to control water pollution. The publication is entitled Clean Water Act Thirty-Year Retrospective: History and Documents Related to the Federal Statute.

ASIWPCA Executive Director Robbi Savage said, "The Retrospective is truly unique." According to Savage, while there have been multiple histories of Federal clean water programs, less attention has been given to the history of State and Interstate efforts to protect water quality.

"The Retrospective tells both stories, with historical overviews as well as collections of some of the most notable Federal and State/Interstate documents. It also lets those who have made clean water history speak for themselves," Savage explained. "ASIWPCA invited former and current Members of Congress; heads of Federal, State, and Interstate agencies; and Congressional staff to comment on the development, enactment, and implementation of the Clean Water Act thirty years after its passage, and the letters from those individuals shed tremendous light on the challenges and obstacles related to the development of the nation‚s clean water programs."

ASIWPCA President (1973-1974) Alfred Peloquin said, "This was truly a labor of love for those of us who were involved in the early years of ASIWPCA and the passage of the 1972 statute." He added, "I applaud the Association for documenting its and the nation‚s clean water history and for incorporating the perspectives of water quality professionals from both the present and the past."

Among the documents included in the Retrospective are Presidential veto statements; House and Senate debates on overriding vetoes; State/Interstate recommendations for improving national clean water programs from past and current decades; and State/Interstate evaluations of progress in water programs.

The Retrospective also includes:

• Origins of the Clean Water Act: text of original Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948.
• Text of Clean Water Act (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) as amended through 2002.
• Historical funding levels for wastewater infrastructure programs (construction grants and clean water state revolving loan fund); for State/Interstate water quality management programs under Section 106; and for State nonpoint source management programs under Section 319.

For more information call 202-898-0905, or visit www.asiwpca.org. Much more (table of contents) can be downloaded via www.asiwpca.org.

Source: EPA's Office of Water