Clean Water Act of 1987

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act as we know it today is a highly evolved statute. Its legislative roots stretch back to the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, over ninety-four years ago. While the 1972 Act dramatically changed the balance of federal and state responsibilities for water quality management, earlier statutes of the 1950s and 1960s contained all of the basic concepts and programs so prominent in that statute. Ten major bills subsequently revised the 1972 statute, reflecting the need to evaluate it periodically.