Publisher's Synopsis
The Clean Water Act has been viewed as one of the most successful environmental laws in terms of achieving its statutory goals, which have been widely supported by the public. Lately, however, some have questioned whether additional actions to achieve further benefits are worth the costs, especially in view of the continuing problems of the U.S. economy. Criticism has come from industry, which has been the long-standing focus of the act's regulatory programs and often opposes imposition of new stringent and costly requirements. Criticism also has come from developers and property rights groups who contend that federal regulations (particularly the act's wetlands permit program) are a costly intrusion on private land-use decisions. States and cities have traditionally supported water quality programs and federal funding to assist them in carrying out the law, but many have opposed CWA measures that they fear might impose new unfunded mandates. Many environmental groups believe that further fine-tuning and strengthening of the law is needed to maintain progress achieved to date and to address remaining water quality problems.
