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Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)

The primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. It's more commonly known as the Clean Water Act.

Water Quality Standards

Goals set by states for a specific body of water, defining how clean it needs to be to support uses like fishing, swimming, or as a source of drinking water. They include the designated use for the water and the limits on pollutants allowed.

Water Quality Criteria

Scientific data or measurements (e.g., specific pollutant concentrations) that support the water quality standards. The EPA develops these to guide states in setting their standards.

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO)

An event that happens in older sewage systems that collect both stormwater and wastewater in the same pipes. During heavy rain, these systems can overflow, discharging a mix of sewage and stormwater directly into bodies of water.

Point Sources

Discernible, confined, and discrete conveyances (like pipes, ditches, or channels) from which pollutants are discharged into navigable waters. Examples include factories and sewage treatment plants.

Effluent Limitations Guidelines

Technology-based standards set by the EPA for categories of industrial dischargers, limiting the amount of pollutants they can release into waters.