The Clean Water Act’s 50th Anniversary

January 2023

Citation:

ELR 10005

Issue

Author

Benjamin F. Wilson, Bruno Pigott, Ben Grumbles, Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Julian Gonzalez, Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, and Marianne Engelman-Lado

October 18, 2022, marked the anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the primary federal law governing pollution control and quality of the waters of the United States. Though the Act has achieved vital successes, whether they can be sustained and how further progress can be made remain fundamental questions. On October 25, 2022, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts at its 2022 Annual Policy Forum to evaluate the past 50 years of the CWA, while looking ahead to the next 50 years. This Dialogue presents a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.

Benjamin F. Wilson (moderator) is retired Chair of Beveridge & Diamond P.C. Bruno Pigott is Deputy Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. Ben Grumbles is Executive Director of the Environmental Council of the States. Alexandra Dapolito Dunn is a Partner at Baker Botts LLP. Julian Gonzalez is a Senior Legislative Counsel at Earthjustice. Dianne Dillon-Ridgley is the former Director at Interface, Inc. Marianne Engelman-Lado is Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.

The Clean Water Act’s 50th Anniversary

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The Clean Water Act’s 50th Anniversary