Indium and Electronics

The Clean Water Act

     The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), also called the Clean Water Act, is an ambitious piece of environmental legislation with roots that stretch back to 1948.  In 1972, The Act was revised and amended to include the unrealistic goal of ending the discharge of pollutants into navigable U. S. Waters by 1977.  FWPCA also created the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).  NPDES seeks to limit water pollution by requiring permits that regulate the discharge of pollutants from pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes with modern sewage handling systems are not required to have a NPDES permit.  Industrial, municipal, and other facilities, however, must have appropriate permits if their discharges go directly into surface waters. Most NPDES permits are issued by the state environmental agency.  The major drawback of the system is that it works on the principle of dilution and does not give any consideration to the total amount of pollution being introduced into the water.

    The 1987 Water Quality Act (WQA) established a mandate for each state to identify and restore impaired waters.  Collectively, the steps for doing so are known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).  TMDL requires a plan that calculates the maximum amount of pollutants an impaired water body can receive and still meet water quality standards. Once the maximum pollutant levels are determined, they can be used to establish an appropriate permitting strategy.   After permits have been issued, the state must monitor progress during the implementation of the plan to determine if it is effective. 

     The future of clean water is tied closely to Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Development (GI/LID) practices.  GI/LID is a term used to describe management of storm water, urban runoff, and the accompanying pollutants.  Small-scale practices employed on a site can reduce the impact of runoff.  Examples of these practices are rain gardens, vegetated swales (low-lying land), permeable pavements, and green roofs.

The Fact Sheet

Follow the link to my fact sheet: Worldwide Devastation of Diarrheal Disease.  http://www.mercer.edu/enp/enp305/ke_fact_sheet.pdf

Early Environmental Policy

The boy with his finger in the dike!

Not all environmental policies down through the ages have been constructive.  Efforts to restrain the sea and drain coastal wetlands in Holland created disastrous flooding.  Clear-cutting of forests elsewhere in Europe led to erosion.  Early agricultural practices resulted in degradation of farmland so that it had to lay fallow before it could be used again.  These are all example of environmental practices and policies that were destructive in  some way.

A French Woodland

     The earliest example I found of a policy aimed at preservation is the Ordinance of Brunoy dated May 1346.  This document was a royal law issued by Philippe VI of Valois, King of France.  The edict authorized royal officers of the Eaux et Forets to supervise the exploitation of the royal forest's resources but it incorporated an important clause that required them to leave the forests in "good condition".  In the document, the King also attempted to limit deforestation on lands outside the royal holdings but he was met with resistance from Nobles and Parliament.