No one questions the importance and success of the Clean Water Act. It has without a doubt led to better technology, better processes, cleaner water and improved public health.
But after 47 years, are the Clean Water Act’s provisions up to today’s challenges — like nutrients, climate change and emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)? How well does its command-and-control approach work in the modern world? Are we using a mid-20th-century framework to address 21st-century problems?
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies argues that this is in fact the case. “The time has come to
