Clean Water Act: Legislation To Benefit The Environment

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Water pollution is a widespread issue that is affecting animals and humans in numerous ways. Poorly treated water is the cause of why innocent animals and humans are becoming ill. Trash, debris, toxic chemicals, and oil are some of the main contaminants that are ending up in the water that can easily be prevented. Thus, they are disrupting ecosystems and making wildlife unsafe for humans to eat. The main things that need to be brought to attention is the legislation that already exists, who opposes the legislation, and the changes that should be made to the legislation.
To being, water pollution has become a huge issue on a national level, and numerous regulations and organizations have been created in order to reduce the contaminants that
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To start, the Clean Water Act is legislation that has already been passed. This law works to restore and protect bodies of water in order to make them usable and safe ("History of the Clean Water Act"). However, it does not cover the little things that people are adding to the environment; littering and conventional farming are two huge issues that people get away with every day. The trash and pesticides have detrimental effects on the living things around them. In order to make this legislation more effective, the government must amend the Clean Water Act legislation. The additions that need to be made are to raise the fine for littering from 300-1,000 dollars to 600-1,500 dollars. Littering is a criminal offense; therefore, people must learn from their mistakes by paying this fine. If the fine is higher, people will prefer not to pay it. With that being said, they will most likely not litter. Also, the government must make conventional farming illegal. Pesticides, herbicides, and other fertilizers are ending up in local waterways, making the water that animals drink contaminated. These substances cause animals to get very sick, so, when people consume those animals, they get sick, as well. Pesticides have been associated with many human health hazards such as cancer, autism, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, et cetera ("The Problem with Pesticides"). These diseases could easily be prevented if people decided to use an alternative option and go with a more sustainable practice to tend to their crops. The penalty for breaking this new law is a fine of 150-300 dollars per 500 square feet of land. The fine will vary based on how extensive the crime is. From now on, the Clean Water Act will not only focus on the actual pollutants being in the water, but the harmful practices that go on outside of the

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