Basics of the Clean Water Act (ELI Summer School, 2024)

Basics of the Clean Water Act

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. legislation targeting water pollution. It was significantly expanded through amendments in 1972 to become what is now commonly recognized as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Today, the CWA is the primary federal law governing pollution control and regulating quality of the waters of the United States. Though it has achieved vital successes, whether those successes can be sustained and how further progress can be made remain fundamental questions.

Faculty will explore the development and basic principles of the CWA as well as recent updates, including:

the regulatory and permitting framework for limiting water pollution;
the key distinction between point sources and nonpoint sources of pollution;
Sackett v. EPA and the revised “waters of the United States” definition rule; and
how climate change and environmental justice concerns impact water regulation.
Panelists:

Dave Owen, Associate Dean for Research and Harry Sunderland '61 Professor of Law, The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, Moderator
Julia Anastasio, Executive Director and General Counsel, Association of Clean Water Administrators
Carroll Courtenay, Staff Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center