Clean Water Act Practice Test

Enforcement under the Clean Water Act can come from multiple actors: the EPA, authorized state environmental agencies, and private citizens who bring citizen suits. The EPA and state agencies have primary enforcement authority to pursue permits violations and discharges under their programs. The Act also allows private individuals to sue violators or responsible agencies in federal district court to seek compliance or penalties, which is the citizen-suit provision. Federal courts are the usual venue for these suits. Local utilities and state legislatures don’t themselves enforce the Act; they may be involved as defendants or as lawmakers, but enforcement is carried out by the EPA, the states, and private citizens via citizen suits.