Is the Clean Water Act Always Applicable? : What New Water Quality Standards Mean for the State of Illinois, Its Waterways, and Small Town Dischargers

Seidel, David

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/90015 Copy

Description

Title

Is the Clean Water Act Always Applicable? : What New Water Quality Standards Mean for the State of Illinois, Its Waterways, and Small Town Dischargers

Author(s)

Seidel, David

Issue Date

2016

Keyword(s)

• Public Health
• Environmental Toxicology
• Economics
• Microbiology

Geographic Coverage

Illinois

Abstract

The Clean Water act of 1972 brought the nation together in agreeance that surface waters of this country need to be protected and safe for recreation. Although this sounds good as a concept, is it truly applicable in all situations? With USEPA’s top-down pressure to require total disinfection of wastewater discharge, the historical practice of disinfection exemption permits for small town dischargers within the state of Illinois enters the crosshairs of the national agency. Many different areas are affected due to this current debate including economics, policy making, aquatic ecology, as well as public health. This paper attempts to bring light to all sides of this multidimensional issue and find common ground among the many different perspectives. The disciplines of public health, economics, and policy will be coupled with natural science viewpoints such as microbiology, malacology and environmental toxicology in this interdisciplinary review. Results of all the evidence and the work done by IEPA supports the decision that a bottom-up policy procedure should be taken in this circumstance. The conclusion that Illinois has the right to maintain its disinfection exemption status on select rural dischargers is based on use attainability analyses, habitat assessments, and historical data.

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90015

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