Number: 2003-02
WHEREAS, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, renamed the Clean Water Act of 1977 when it was amended, and the 1987 Water Quality Act, form the basis of U.S. efforts to control pollution and degradation of the country’s surface waters; and
WHEREAS, the goal of these laws is to make all U.S. surface waters safe for fishing and swimming; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Act is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters”; and
WHEREAS, the Act strives to meet this purpose by requiring states and tribes to promulgate water quality standards that consist of designated water body uses, numeric and narrative criteria, and an anti-degradation provision that maintains existing uses; and
WHEREAS, the Act calls for classification of rivers according to how we use them and it protects them for the continuation of those uses; and
WHEREAS, national effluent standards have been established as a result of the Act, and discharge limits from factories, sewage treatment plants and other point sources have been set; and
WHEREAS, the Act can be used to sue egregious violators and collect fines to pay for river repair and other environmental benefits; and
WHEREAS, as a result of the Act, most U.S. cities have secondary sewage treatment made possible by over $100 billion in federal grants for building sewage treatment plants; and
WHEREAS, clean water is a universal need and is among the most threatened resources in the United States and around the world; and
WHEREAS, the need for clean water grows daily as water use in industry increases and as the population expands, and simultaneously waste and pollution increasingly threaten to limit the quality and availability of this irreplaceable resource,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its annual meeting assembled March 27-29, 2003, in Washington, D.C., hereby joins with individuals, volunteers, communities and organizations to recognize the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation reaffirms its continuing support for the Clean Water Act, including adequate funding from Congress with matching non-federal support, and full implementation of all provisions, which together meet the original goal and purpose of the Act.