In October 1972 Congress passed the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments—better known as the Clean Water Act—over President Richard Nixon’s veto. The act completely revised the Federal Water Pollution Control Act enacted in 1948. The Clean Water Act introduced a major change in the federal government’s approach to water pollution control. It placed limits on what could be discharged into bodies of water and set water quality standards. The act established a national goal of zero discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters by 1985. It also made it illegal for any unauthorized person to discharge pollutants into U.S. waters. The act authorized the expenditure of more than $24 billion, including some $18 billion in grants to states for the construction of waste treatment plants. The act also allowed citizens to sue polluters, the federal government, and the Environmental Protection Agency over water pollution. The act had been amended several times with the latest amendments passed in February 1987 over President Ronald Reagan’s veto.
