The Clean Water Act is the cornerstone of surface water quality
protection in the United States. The statute employs a variety
of regulatory and nonregulatory tools to sharply reduce direct
pollutant discharges into waterways, finance municipal wastewater
treatment facilities, and manage polluted runoff. These tools
are employed to achieve the broader goal of restoring and
maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity
of the nation's waters so that they can support "the
protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife
and recreation in and on the water."
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