major amendment to the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and was substantially
modified by the Water Quality Act of 1987. Section 101 of
the CWA provides for the restoration and maintenance of
water quality inall waters throughout the country, with the ultimate goal of
"fishable and swimmable" water quality. The act
established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (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 storm water, 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-E site are currently being upgraded to
improve treatment capabilities.
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