The proposed Clean Air Act Amendments of 1976, a product of almost two years of legislative effort, died on the last day of the 94th Congress, because of a Senate filibuster of the final version agreed to by Senate and House conferees. The legislation addressed numerous policy issues which have arisen during implementation of the original statute, including significant deterioration of currently clean air, the necessity for urban transportation controls, and control of air pollution from federal facilities. It also spoke to the general issue of extending the statutory compliance timetable for stationary sources and new automobiles where compliance with the deadlines currently imposed has proven impossible.

In a similar denouement, an amendment to §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act¹ aimed at modifying the Army Corps of Engineers authority for regulating dredge and fill activities in all waters of the United States also died when House and Senate conferees failed to agree on a conference report for the measure. Defeat of the §404 amendment leaves intact the current regulatory structure, generally regarded as comprehensive and workable by environmentalists.