CONTENTS Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law Page 5 Index to Public Law 92-500__. 521 To extend certain provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 181 To extend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, for 3 The Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-224) - The Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966 (Public Law 89–753) – The Water Quality Act of 1965 (Public Law 89–234). The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1961 (Public Law 87-88)_ Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1956 (Public Law 84-660). Water Pollution Control Act Extension of 1952 (Public Law 82-579)_. Water Pollution Control Act (Public Law 80-845)__ Amendments to the Oil Pollution Control Act, 1966 (Public Law 89–551). The Oil Pollution Control Act, 1961 (Public Law 87-167). The Oil Pollution Control Act of 1924 (Public Law 68–238). Executive Order 11574-Administration of Refuse Act permit program__ Executive Order 11548-Delegating Functions of the President under the Federal Water Control Pollution Act, as Amended.. Executive Order 11523-Establishing the National Industrial Pollution Executive Order 11514-Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Executive Order 11507-Prevention, Control and Abatement of Air and Water Pollution at Federal Facilities___ Executive Order 11472-Establishing the Environmental Quality Council and the Citizens' Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality - Executive Order 11288-Prevention, Control and Abatement of Water Pollution by Federal Activities. International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in SECTION II Page National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-190)- 461 467 471 Water Resources Planning Act, appropriation increase (Public Law 92-396). 485 Section 209, Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-500)- - 487 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-532) 489 Amortization of Pollution Control Facilities. 505 Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection 509 INTRODUCTION This Committee print is an updated compilation of legislation developed by the Committee on Public Works in the field of water pollution control and water quality. In its approach to all this legislation, the Public Works Committee sees no basic conflict between environmental quality and sound economic development, which, too, is a major Committee responsibility. We know that both are essential to the well-being of our growing population. This Committee's record in the area of environmental protection is long and well established. Prior to the Reorganization Act of 1946 which created the Public Works Committee as an amalgam of several existing Committees, there had been some pioneering legislation in this general field-notably the Public Health Service Act of 1912 and the Oil Pollution Act of 1924. But it was not until the Public Works Committee moved in 1948 to target water pollution as a primary national concern that any really comprehensive legislation directed specifically at the problem was enacted. This first step toward restoring and preserving our national water resources was Public Law 80-845. Public Law 80-845 essentially had a five-fold purpose: 1. Authorized the Surgeon General to assist in and encourage State studies and plans, interstate compacts, and creation of uniform State laws to control pollution. 2. Supported research. 3. Authorized the Department of Justice to bring suits to require an individual or firm to cease practices leading to pollution-suits could be brought only after notice and hearing, and only with the consent of the State. 4. Established the Federal Water Pollution Control Advisory Board. 5. Provided authorization for funding. a. $22.5 million a year for Fiscal Years 1949-1953 for low interest (2 percent) loans for construction of sewage and waste treatment works. Loans limited to $250,000 or one-third the cost of the project. b. $1 million a year for Fiscal Years 1949-1953 for grants to States for pollution studies. c. $800,000 a year for Fiscal Years 1949-1953 for grants to aid in drafting construction plans for water pollution control projects. Public Law 82-579, enacted in 1952 extended the provisions of the 1948 Act for an additional three years through Fiscal Years 19541956. The emergence of the national water pollution control program as a permanent program came about with the enactment of Public Law 84-660 in 1956. This Act, which was brought about by the efforts of the Public Works Committee, provided legislation of a comprehensive nature and permitted Federal participation in a wide variety of activities, including Federal-State cooperation in developing comprehensive programs, increased technical assistance, intensified and broadened research, provided $3 million a year in grants for Fiscal Years 1957-1961 to assist in the preparation of State plans for pollution control, $550 million for grants to help local communities build sewage treatment plants for Fiscal Years 1957-1966, and modified and simplified enforcement measures for controlling pollution of interstate waters. In 1961, the Nation was beginning to realize the need for an active and accelerated water pollution control program. After considerable hearings, the Public Works Committee recommended to the Congress H.R. 6441 and this eventually became enacted as Public Law 87-88. The major provisions of that Act were as follows: 1. Vested administration of program in Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (previously Surgeon General). 2. Authorize grants to local communities for sewage treatment plants of: a. $80 million in Fiscal Year 1962 b. $90 million in Fiscal Year 1963 c. $100 million in Fiscal Years 1964-1967. 3. Raised Federal contribution to 30 percent of total cost or $600,000 whichever was less (formerly 30 percent or $250,000). 4. Permitted Federal grants as high as $2.4 million where communities unite to build one project. 5. Authorized seven regional laboratories for research and demonstration in improved methods of sewage treatment and control. 6. Permitted the HEW Secretary, through the Justice Department, to bring court suits to require an offender to cease activities causing pollution in interstate waters without seeking permission of the State. 7. Extended pollution abatement procedures of the Act to navigable intrastate and coastal waters, but required permission of owners before Federal enforcement suit could be brought to stop activities in such waters. (Previously, abatement procedures applied only to interstate waters.) The water pollution control program as we know it today was put into present shape by enactment of The Water Quality Act of 1965 and The Clean Waters Restoration Act of 1966. Under The Water Quality Act of 1965, the States were given the initial opportunity of adopting by June 30, 1967, water quality standards for their interstate waters, and plans to implement and enforce the standards for approval by the Secretary of Interior as Federal standards. (The Reorganization Plan No. 2 which was effective May 10, 1966, transferred the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, as well as most of the functions of the Secretary of HEW authorized by the Federal Water Pollution Control Acts, to the Secretary of the Interior.) If a State fails to adopt adequate criteria and plans, the Secretary is authorized to initiate Federal actions to establish standards. The Water Quality Act of 1965 also provided for grants for research and development in better methods of controlling pollution from stormwater and combined sewer overflows and for increased amounts for constructing sewage treatment works ($150 million for Fiscal Years 1966 and 1967). The Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966 authorized a massive Federal participation in the construction of sewage treatment grants. The legislation authorized a total Federal expenditure of $3,550,000,000 during Fiscal Years 1967-1971. Unfortunately, despite the demonstrated need for such Federal expenditures, the appropriations for Fiscal Years 1967-1970 have been just a little over 50 percent of the authorized amounts. With the passage of the Water Quality Act of 1970, the Committee introduced major innovations in the law dealing with oil pollution from vessels and on-shore and off-shore facilities, Federal permits and licenses, sewage pollution from vessels, and hazardous substances discharged into our national waters. In addition, the 1970 Act provided staff support for the Council of Environmental Quality to monitor the Federal pollution control efforts. Nevertheless, the funding for pollution control remained far too small for the task at hand and, as the 92nd Congress opened, it was evident that new legislative tools and Federal aid on a vastly greater scale were urgently needed. The Public Works Committee embarked on a series of penetrating investigative hearings that revealed a need for closer coordination of Federal, State, and local action; consolidation of environmental jurisdiction in the Washington bureaucracy; the application of more sophisticated waste treatment technology; a more workable and efficient system of permits for industrial discharges, intensified research, and multi-billion dollar Federal grants for construction of municipal waste treatment plants. With that information in hand, the Committee conducted a monthslong round of legislative hearings, during which testimony was received from more than 400 witnesses representing all shades of public and governmental opinion on the complex issues involved in water pollution control. The resulting legislation, PL 92-500, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, represented a complete rewrite of all existing water pollution control laws on the Federal statute books. President Nixon vetoed the measure because he considered its $24.6 billion authorization too high, but it was enacted into law over his veto by overwhelming margins in both House and Senate. Public Law 92-500 stands as a landmark in the history of environmental legislation. It sets as a national goal the elimination of all pollution from America's waters by 1985. The law requires secondary treatment for all municipal wastes by mid-1977, and the application of more advanced disposal methods by mid-1983. For industry, the law establishes a two-phase cleanup program, with increasingly tight restrictions on industrial pollution, backed up by penalties of fines and imprisonment for violators. JOHN A. BLATNIK, Chairman, Committee on Public Works. |