Legal Aspects of Water Pollution Control

Abstract

The legal aspects of water pollution control have roots in a wider political and cultural movement concerning environmental conservation. One of the early political stands on the topic was Kennedy’s “New Frontiers” speech in 1961, which addressed the need to fight environmental degradation. This was followed in 1962 by Rachael Carson’s book Silent Spring, which molded the public conscious and precipitated a plethora of laws. These laws started in 1965 and extended through the late 1970’s. Some of the tangible political actions during this period included Johnsons’s “Water for Peace” conference in 1967, and Nixon’s 1970 State of the Union speech, which laid the basis for an environmental policy encompassing 23 draft bills and 14 administrative measures. The central points were water pollution control, air pollution control, solid waste management, parks, wildlife, and the more elusive idea, “quality of life.”