Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

6-7-2004

SSRN Discipline

PSN Subject Matter eJournals; Political Economy - Comparative eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Health Economics Network; Sustainability Research & Policy Network; delete2; Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Corporate Governance Network; SRPN Subject Matter eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory; Political Science Network; Environmental & Natural Resources Law eJournals

Abstract

This is the second article in a twopart series that examines the legal and technological developments as well as the social and political forces that culminated in the enactment of one of the landmark statutes of the twentieth century the Clean Water Act The first article which appeared at 22 Stanford Environmental Law Journal 145 2003 focused on developments at the state and local level It traced the way in which water pollution progressed from a simple local issue to a complex state and regional problem by the 1920s The article then turned to the development of state regulation from 1869 to 1972 concentrating on both its innovations and its shortcomings which were many This article Part II continues the story by exploring the history of federal involvement in water pollution control The American penchant for turning to the federal government for help in coping with pollution problems is not of recent vintage This part of the story begins in 1879 with the shortlived National Board of Health continues through the fascinating attempts to enact a comprehensive federal regulatory scheme during the New Deal and concludes with a thorough review of the legislative history of the 1972 Clean Water Act The purpose of the series is to provide those who are concerned about the future of the Clean Water Act with a deeper appreciation of the trends and forces the historical context that helped shape this revolutionary statute

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