What did the Clean Water Act of 1972 establish?

• A. It created water quality standards to control pollution, including elimination of point source discharge of pollutants.
• B. It regulated mining activities
• C. It established air quality standards
• D. It provided subsidies for agriculture

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is safeguarding water quality by controlling where pollution comes from. The Clean Water Act established national water quality standards and created a permit system that regulates discharges from point sources into navigable waters. Dischargers such as factories and municipal plants must obtain permits and meet specific limits on what they release, with the goal of reducing pollution and ultimately eliminating point-source discharges into U.S. waters. This focus on standards and a formal permitting framework for controlling pollution from identifiable sources is what the Act is all about. It isn’t about mining regulation, air quality, or subsidies for farming, which are addressed by other laws.