aw on October 18, 1972 (Richman, 1999, p. 4). The law created the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, requiring states to establish total maximum daily loads for pollutants in their waters and best available technology standards for industry, required an upgrade for municipal wastewater facilities from primary to secondary treatment, created a national pretreatment program, and authorized $18 billion in grants for municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure over a 3-year period.
The CWA was modified in 1977 to encourage states to accept NPDES program delegation and manage the Construction Grants Program, and to expand the EPA's ability to control the release of toxic pollutants into collection systems and surface water. In the four years after the CWA was enacted, Congress appropriated $18 billion for the program, $9 billion of which was provided in the fiscal year 1976, and consequently, the number of wastewater plants with secondary treatment grew by more than 58 percent from 1976 to 1980 (Richman, 1999, p. 4).
A 1981 statute reduced federal funding for wastewater treatment infrastructure, after President Reagan called for the program to be phased out (Richman, 1999, p. 4). In the 1987 amendments, Congress replaced the Construction Grants Program with the State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program, which provides low-cost sources of
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