The Clean Water Rule is an act that protects the American people in mind. The rule grants further protection to water that we drink from, closes loopholes from the Clean Water Act, benefits business, and saves money. Therefore, the Clean Water Rule shall be passed because it will lead to fairness and equality in our economy, health, and environment.
Notably, it is established that The Clean Water Rule would add protection to currently unprotected bodies of water. This clean water rule is especially beneficial because those currently unprotected waters are also a source of drinking supply to many Americans. Without the Clean Water Rule, many of these streams may be unprotected or not examined. To elaborate, the New York Times cites James M.
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Some companies may dump chemicals into a body of water, but get away scotch free because the Clean Water Act does not protect certain affected rivers and creeks. Specifically, The New York Times reports (Duhigg and Roberts 2010), cites a 2007 case of an Alabama pipe manufacturer who dumped several chemicals including oil, lead, and zinc into a creek. The company, a division of McWane Inc., was supposed to pay a fine. However, due to the unclear definitions of waterways from the Clean Water Act, McWane Inc. had their conviction and fine overturned. The New York times (Duhigg and Roberts 2010) further cites cases like these that are legally dropped against companies suspected of polluting our waters. They write “And even as the number of facilities violating the Clean Water Act has steadily increased each year, E.P.A. judicial actions against major polluters have fallen by almost half since the Supreme Court rulings…”. Also, they cite, “Companies that have spilled oil, carcinogens and dangerous bacteria into lakes, rivers and other waters are not being prosecuted, according to Environmental Protection Agency regulators working on those cases, who estimate that more than 1,500 major pollution investigations have been discontinued or shelved in the last four years.” Thanks to these loopholes creating a danger to the public, more regulations need to be in place creating a need for the Clean Water
In the first chapter in the second half of the book Rosenbaum discusses issues that relate to air and water, which he describes as being the primary issues for environmental policy today. These issues are the most politically salient and most important. Rosenbaum explains the current condition of the air and water in America and explains the task that Americans face in restoring these; the idea of restoring America’s air and water sources has been a goal since environmentalism emerged. It is important to realize, however, that the slow progress is not entirely the blame of policy and administrative failure, but rather science and technology is constantly changing and therefore new and unanticipated effects are placed on the environment. On the flip side science is also constantly redefining the standards that need to be meet in regards to pollution. The way that he is explaining how the government is working to combat the problems of pollution he i...
The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA is the result of a 1970 executive order by President Richard Nixon for the purpose of protecting the environment of the United States through regulation on business and citizens. Public opinion on the Environmental Protection Agency has been divided fairly evenly across the population of the United States as of recently, as compared to the widespread public concern of the 50’s and 60’s that led to the agency’s creation. Recently the agency has come under scrutiny for its contributions of millions of dollars in grants to researchers in order to hide the potential trade off of its actions in order to further the agency’s agenda. The EPA’s ever-expanding regulation could end up harming more than it actually
Kenneth Schiff wrote an editorial for the Marine Pollution Bulletin in 2014 where he asked environmental scientist about the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. Three topics were discussed to support their approval; The Cuyahoga River, Platform A and declines in marine life. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio had hit a point 1969 where there was so much oil on the surface of that it caught on fire and now it has been deemed as fishable by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, thanks to the Clean Water Act. Platform A was located in Southern California. In 1969, an explosion occurred, causing 100,000 barrels of oil to devastate beaches along the Pacific Ocean and kill thousands of animals located in this region. Also discussed was the effects of hazardous substances, in this example DDT, on marine life. The use of this pesticide caused brown pelicans and California sea lions to experience intense decline in population- thanks to the Clean Water Act being followed by much research, restrictions and bans were able to be placed on these chemicals, allowing these populations to flourish once more. Within this editorial, there is also many who state that this Act has not been effective enough. One big argument is that the EPA has a list of pollutants that has not changed since the 1970’s yet in the last 40 years, there has
Retrieved from, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/09/elk-river-chemical-spill-wv_n_4571408.html The Associated Press (2014). West Virginia Chemical Spill: Water ban could last days. Retrieved from, http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/west-virginia-chemical-spill-water-ban-could-last-days-1.2493551 Meridith Edwards, Alexandra Field & Shiochet Catherine (2014). West Virginia chemical spill shines spotlight on loose regulation.
... on the economy, environment and society. Everyone should judiciously use water in a sustainable community. Not everyone has the wherewithal to implement a home water filtration system which can remove hazardous chemicals such as chlorine, lead, asbestos, pharmaceuticals and pathogens from our drinking water. Industries and public should take it seriously and not consider profit alone as it goals. They should have ethical responsibility to reduce water pollution and conserve it. EPA and other water utilities board should strictly monitor and take action against violators. Water pollution abatement plans should be made and implemented.
The Chesapeake Bay is polluted with agricultural waste. We see things like 1.5 billion pounds of chicken waste that no one wants to take responsibility for. Ignoring standards, a waterway was tested for E. coli; the standard is 125 FCU/100ml of water. Yet this waterway’s level was at 48392 FCU/100ml. An industry that will go to great lengths to make sure that Congress doesn’t impose sanction against them.
that we have to start watching where we drain our polluted water, and start to
---. “The Clean Water Act—Is it Successfully Reducing Water Pollution?- Final Draft.” UTSA: WRC 1023, 11 Apr 2014. Print.
Whether we want to believe it or not water pollution is one of the world’s l...
The Water Pollution Control Act succeeded in lessening water pollution in the USA. The USA needed to have clean waterfront in the XXI century and one can say that at present the USA figured out how to attain one of the most noteworthy immaculate levels.
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
Overview of the Problem In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA). This policy has been established to end with water pollution problems around the United States. Congress intended the Clean Water Act to be comprehensive and ambitious. The law’s stated objective was “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters (Andreen & Jones, 2008).
Having clean water to drink means that water must have microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that meet WHO guidelines or national standards on drinking water quality. Around 780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (Millions Lack Safe Water). More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in developing countries. Around the world, diseases in unclean water kill about 1,400 children every day (Clean Drinking Water). There are many organizations that raise money in order to help develop ways or create ways for people to obtain clean drinking water. However, many people are unaware that this is even a problem in other countries because we take clean water for granted.
Clean Water: “An under-appreciated liquid to Survive” Water is pure and transparent liquid that is vital for all humans, plants and animals on the planet. In the United States, people have access to clean drinking water and clean sanitation systems, not like in other parts of the world where clean, safe drinking water is getting scarce. A lot of people don’t have access to it, and many regions are suffering severe drought. Yet, when humans take it for granted, they don’t appreciate that a reliable, clean supply of water is essential to human health, economy and agricultural prosperity. Having clean and safe potable water is a right, and not a privilege.
Water plays such an important role in our daily lives. 70% of our body is composed of water. 70% of the earth surface is also made up of water, but out of the 70%, only 1/3 of water is consumable. In fact, this amount has been continuously to decrease as more and more industries began to pollute and damage the water. For example, many toxic chemicals may be released into the water thus making the water impure. Such pollutions and damages lead the water to be contaminated and inconsumable as it may cause severe diseases. Water purification can remove all the unnecessary bacteria and viruses from the water that is hazardous for our health. Water purification may also improve the flavor and appearance of water. It removes the unpleasant odor. Therefore, water purification became one of the most useful and popular process used by people all over the world today. It is by far the most recommended and safest water treatment that is commonly used to purify damaged water into consumable water. Water purification provides us with safe, pure and clean water to consume and use.