	Introduction

Although much progress has been made in achieving the ambitious goals that Congress established 30-plus years ago to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, long-standing problems persist, and new problems have emerged. Water quality problems are diverse, ranging from pollution runoff from farms and ranches, city streets, and other diffuse or "nonpoint" sources, to "point" source discharges of metals and organic and inorganic toxic substances from factories and sewage treatment plants. However, there is less agreement about what solutions are needed and whether new legislation is required. Several key water quality issues exist: evaluating actions to implement existing provisions of the law, assessing whether additional steps are necessary to achieve overall goals of the act that have not yet been attained, ensuring that progress made to date is not lost through diminished attention to water quality needs, and defining the appropriate federal role in guiding and paying for clean water infrastructure and other activities. For some time, efforts to comprehensively amend the act have stalled as interests have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. These factors partly explain why Congress has recently favored focusing legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. A number of other issues of interest included implementation of current programs to manage stormwater discharges and nonpoint sources of pollution, as these are major contributors to water quality impairments across the country; implementation of rules governing discharges of wastes from large animal feeding operations; and implications of a number of court rulings concerning the scope of the act's discharge permit requirements. The act's program of financial aid for municipal wastewater treatment plant construction is a key contributor to that effort. At issue has been what the federal role should be in assisting states and cities, especially in view of such high projected funding needs. Thus, SRF issues have been prominent on the Clean Water Act reauthorization agenda in recent Congresses. H.R. In the 109 th Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved S. 1400 , the Water Infrastructure Financing Act, in July 2005 ( S.Rept. This bill, H.R. H.R. Regulatory Protection of Wetlands

How best to protect the nation's remaining wetlands and regulate activities taking place in wetlands has become one of the most contentious environmental policy issues, especially in the context of the CWA, which contains a key wetlands regulatory tool, the permit program in Section 404. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held hearings on H.R. 569 ).
Although much progress has been made in achieving the ambitious goals that Congress established more than 35 years ago in the Clean Water Act (CWA) to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, long-standing problems persist, and new problems have emerged. Water quality problems are diverse, ranging from pollution runoff from farms and ranches, city streets, and other diffuse or "nonpoint" sources, to toxic substances discharged from factories and sewage treatment plants.
There is little agreement among stakeholders about what solutions are needed and whether new legislation is required to address the nation's remaining water pollution problems. Several key water quality issues exist: evaluating actions to implement existing provisions of the law, assessing whether additional steps are necessary to achieve overall goals of the act that have not yet been attained, ensuring that progress made to date is not lost through diminished attention to water quality needs, and defining the appropriate federal role in guiding and paying for clean water infrastructure and other activities. For some time, efforts to comprehensively amend the CWA have stalled as interests have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. Congress has instead focused legislative attention on enacting narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, but not any comprehensive proposals.
For several years, the most prominent legislative water quality issue has concerned financial assistance for municipal wastewater treatment projects, and it has been in focus in the 110th Congress, as well: the House passed three bills dealing with wastewater infrastructure financing (H.R. 720, H.R. 700, and H.R. 569), and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved another, S. 3500. At issue is how the federal government will assist states and cities in meeting needs to rebuild, repair, and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, especially in light of capital costs that are projected to be as much as $390 billion.
Also of interest have been programs that regulate activities in wetlands, especially CWA Section 404, which has been criticized by landowners for intruding on private land-use decisions and imposing excessive economic burdens. Environmentalists view these programs as essential for maintaining the health of wetland ecosystems, and they are concerned about court rulings that narrowed regulatory protection of wetlands and about related administrative actions. Many stakeholders desire clarification of the act's regulatory jurisdiction, but they differ on what solutions are appropriate. In the 110th Congress, committees held hearings on legislation that seeks to provide that clarification (H.R. 2421, S. 1870).
Other issues discussed in this report that also have been of interest in Congress include implementation of current programs to manage stormwater discharges and nonpoint sources of pollution, as these are major contributors to water quality impairments across the country; implementation of rules governing discharges of wastes from large animal feeding operations; and implications of court rulings for the scope of the act's discharge permit requirements.