This is a practice-focused guide to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as the Clean Water Act--the primary federal statute regulating water pollution for the protection of the country's water resources.

Clean Water Act Essentials: Third Edition provides legal practitioners, consultants, and other interested individuals with an overview of the CWA's complex framework of federal and state controls. The authors explain the statute and the 1972 Amendments that created a system of permits and regulations to govern the discharge of pollutants into the nation's waters and publicly owned treatment works, focusing on these uniform standards and their implementation and enforcement.

This quick overview covers all essential elements of the Clean Water Act:

• History of the Clean Water Act and Amendments
• NPDES permitting process
• Technology-based standards
• Water-quality-based effluent limitations
• Publicly owned treatment works (POTW)
• Regulation of wetlands
• Discharges and spills of oil and hazardous substances
• Wet-weather discharges from point sources
• Reducing nonpoint source pollution
• Enforcement

Clean Water Act Essentials: Third Edition includes time-saving appendices, including an acronym list, FAQs, a list of key cases with a one-sentence description of that case, glossary, and bibliography. Whether you're new or seasoned professional, you'll find this a quick and necessary resource for understanding the legal fundamentals of the CWA.