2.2. Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act (CWA) was established in 1977 as a major amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and was substantially modified by the Water Quality Act of 1987. The CWA provides for the restoration and maintenance of water quality in all waters throughout the country, with the ultimate goal of "fishable and swimmable" water quality. The act established the NPDES permitting system, which is the regulatory mechanism designed to achieve this goal. The authority to implement the NPDES program has been delegated to those states, including Illinois, that have developed a program substantially the same and at least as stringent as the federal NPDES program.

The 1987 amendments to the CWA significantly changed the thrust of enforcement activities. Greater emphasis is now placed on monitoring and control of toxic constituents in wastewater, the permitting of outfalls composed entirely of stormwater, and the imposition of regulations governing sewage sludge disposal. These changes in the NPDES program resulted in much stricter discharge limits and greatly expanded the number of chemical constituents monitored in the effluent. The wastewater treatment facilities on the ANL site will be upgraded to improve treatment capabilities.