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File #: 22-0946    Version: 1
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
File created: 10/12/2022 In control: Miscellaneous & New Business
On agenda: 10/20/2022 Final action: 10/20/2022
Title: RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act

RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF OCTOBER 20, 2022

 

Title

RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act

Body

 

WHEREAS, with the onset of World War II, water pollution in the United States increased at an accelerated rate as a byproduct of the growth in industrial manufacturing and the move toward urbanization; and

 

WHEREAS, compelled to address this growing threat, on June 30, 1948, the 80th session of the United States Congress passed Public Law 80-845, known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which was the first law of significance passed in the United States to address water pollution; and

 

WHEREAS, while being widely celebrated, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act applied only to interstate bodies of water, reserved intrastate pollution as a responsibility of the states, and was challenging to enforce; and

 

WHEREAS, realizing the shortfalls of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, on October 18, 1972, the 92nd session of Congress passed Public Law 92-500, known as the Clean Water Act.  While officially amending the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Clean Water Act significantly modified the original act; and 

 

WHEREAS, some of the most notable changes which comprise the Clean Water Act are: regulation of pollution discharges into all navigable bodies of water located within the United States; authorization to the United States Environmental Protection Agency to administer pollution control standards, including establishing industry wastewater standards; and financial contribution to the construction and upgrade of sewage treatment plants; and

 

WHEREAS, although the Clean Water Act itself has been amended numerous times since its creation, the magnitude of the legislation cannot be overstated.  The Clean Water Act was instrumental in paving the way for water pollution regulation and abatement in the United States; and

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and our staff, do hereby acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

 

Dated: October 20, 2022