The Clean Water Act: 20 Years Later, Robert W. Adler, Jessica C. Landman, Diane M. Cameron, (Washington DC: Island Press, 1993), 309pp.
Understanding environmental problems; administrative procedures; politics; market approaches; applicable to water resource issues; written for the first party participant.
The Clean Water Act: 20 Years Later is an evaluation of "... how well the Clean Water Act has achieved its primary goal of restoring and protecting the integrity of the nation's surface waters." The work was published in conjunction with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The Clean Water Act: 20 Years Later is required reading for ECON 6535 as taught by Professor Anna Alberini. This work will be of interest to those who desire an appraisal of the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. The authors have divided the book into two parts. The first part is a "clean water retrospective" which focuses; on the Clean Water Act itself, the state of our waters today and the economics of clean water. The authors discuss the need for clean water and the impetus for the Act. They examine traditional measures of pollution and water quality, and the continuing threat to human health and aquatic species and ecosystems posed by polluted waters. The final chapter of the first part addresses the economics of clean water. The authors examine: the economic values of water resources, the economic losses resultant from resource degradation, and the economic cost of water resource protection.
Part II constitutes the larger portion of the book and is devoted to assessing Clean Water Act programs. The first chapter of this part addresses the need for improved standards, monitoring and communication. The second chapter discusses the "elusive zero discharge goal". The authors examine: the regulatory structure for industry and sewage treatment plants, and national treatment standards as limited and outdated. The chapter concludes with the an exploration of the deficiencies of permit programs and enforcement of standards.
Chapter six addresses the virtual non-existence of poison runoff controls through discussions of: a basic examination of poison runoff, badly administered or abandoned controls, and the new coastal runoff program. Chapter seven focuses upon the protection of aquatic resources and ecosystems. The authors examine State: anti-degradation programs and water quality certification. Programs which strive to protect; lakes, estuaries, oceans and rivers are explored including those which protect waters from dredging and filling. The final chapter addresses the National Agenda for Clean Water developed by the Clean Water Network. The authors assert that for any national agenda to be effective it must accomplish the following. First, it must work to improve informational tools and fund programs adequately. Such a national program must have as its goals: the closing of gaps for point sources of pollution, the protection of aquatic ecosystems and watersheds, and the prevention of polluted runoff.
The Clean Water Act: 20 Years Later is a systematic examination of the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act. It also makes suggestions for future action toward "... restoring and protecting the integrity of the nation's surface waters."
T. A. O'Lonergan
W1ADLE
W11ADLE
W13ADLE
W15ADLE