Introduction to the Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States. (The Act does not deal directly with ground water nor with water quantity issues.) 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."

Safe Drinking Water Act
42 U.S.C. s/s 300f et seq. (1974)
The Safe Drinking Water Act was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources.
The Act authorized EPA to establish safe standards of purity and required all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with primary (health-related) standards. State governments, which assume this power from EPA, also encourage attainment of secondary standards (nuisance-related).

Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. s/s 552 (1966)
The Freedom of Information Act provides specifically that “any person” can make requests for government information. Citizens who make requests are not required to identify themselves or explain why they want the information they have requested. The position of Congress in passing FOIA was that the workings of government are “for and by the people” and that the benefits of government information should be made available to everyone.
All branches of the Federal government must adhere to the provisions of FOIA with certain restrictions for work in progress (early drafts), enforcement confidential information, classified documents, and national security information.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
7 U.S.C. s/s 136 et seq. (1996)
The primary focus of FIFRA was to provide federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use. EPA was given authority under FIFRA not only to study the consequences of pesticide usage but also to require users (farmers, utility companies, and others) to register when purchasing pesticides.
Through later amendments to the law, users also must take exams for certification as applicators of pesticides. All pesticides used in the U.S. must be registered (licensed) by EPA. Registration assures that pesticides will be properly labeled and that if in accordance with specifications, will not cause unreasonable harm to the environment.