美国水污染问题由来已久，联邦使用法律手段治理水污染则始于20世纪40年代。经过30年代的初步酝酿，美国在1948年出台了首部《联邦水污染控制法》。这部法律的内容有些简单，但初步确立了联邦和各州在治理水污染事务上的责任。1956年，国会修订了这部法律，加强了对各州在治理水污染事务上的援助力度，首次将联邦向各州提供污水处理工程的建设资金作为一项制度确立下来。 从60年代初开始，联邦再度开启修订相关法律的议程。这十年中，最具有代表性的成果是《1965年水质量法》，它的出台不仅宣告了国家将水环境质量作为判断水污染治理成效的标准，而且在某种程度上扩大了联邦政府治理水污染问题的权威。联邦在60年代推动国家治理水污染的法律制度不断走向完善。 尽管联邦在60年代强化了对水污染治理的制度建设，但依旧未能根治水污染问题。面对这一问题日益加剧的局面和公众要求改善环境质量的呼声，联邦最终在1972年对治理水污染立法实现了革命性突破，这一年出台的《1972年联邦水污染控制法修正案》将消除污染物作为治理水污染的最终目标，并且排污点源直接被纳入联邦政府的管制当中。这样，联邦政府试图通过对污染源的管制建立起“国家污染物排放淘汰系统”，确立联邦主导下的污染治理体系。但由于各种问题的出现，联邦于1977年再度修订了法律。新修订的法律沿用了1972年法律的基本框架，它继续加强和巩固了联邦主导下的水污染治理模式。 总之，1948-1977年美国联邦水污染治理法律制度经历了阶段性的变化、发展，这是多种影响因素共同作用的结果。其中，不同的利益集团围绕政策的运行展开了斗争，法律在各个阶段的实施而取得成效的同时也出现了一些问题。对美国水污染治理法律制度的演变过程的探讨，不啻是理解美国环境治理法律的一把钥匙。联邦水污染治理法律的发展和演变的逻辑体现出从保护个人利益到实现公共福利，再到维护生态系统完整的转变，因此这部法律逐渐在协调社会的整体福利和保护环境两者关系上发挥着关键的作用。此外，它还促进了联邦与各州在治理水污染事务上的互动；通过法律的修订和完善，联邦政府逐渐掌握了治理污染的主动权，也提升了联邦政府对国家环境管理的权威和地位。
The water pollution was a long-standing problem in American history, and use of legal means to cope with it by federal government began in the 1940s. After preliminary design in the 1930s, the Congress enacted the first Water Pollution Control Act in 1948. The legislation was somewhat simple, but it initially established the responsibilities between the federal government and the states in water pollution control. The federal government revised the legislation in 1956, and the amended act strengthened the assistances to states in water pollution control and for the first time established the federal provision of construction funds for sewage treatment works to the states.From the early 1960s, the nation once again started the agenda of amending the legislation and the Water Quality Act of 1965 was typical law in this decade. It announced the federal government did not only judge the outcomes of the water pollution control based on the ambient quality, but also expanded the authority to some extent. Overall, the federal water pollution control legislation system continued to be improved in the 1960s. Although the federal government had breakthrough for controlling water pollution pre-1970s, it did not end it. Faced the worsening water pollution and the public's calls for environmental quality, the federal government achieved a revolutionary breakthrough in water pollution control in 1972. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of Amendment of 1972, which regarded the elimination of pollutants as the ultimate goal of pollution control, made that the point sources of pollution were directly managed by federal government, thus the federal government tried to establish "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System". Due to some problems on enforcement, the Congress passed the amended legislation again in 1977. The new one followed the basic model of the 1972 legislation and continued to strengthen and consolidate the water pollution control, led by federal government. Overall, the U.S. “Federal water pollution control Act” went through periodic changes and developments, which was the result of various factors. Different interest groups launched battles around the legislation, and implementation of the “Fedearl Water Pollution Control Act” in various stages achieved both successes and failures. The discussion on the evolution of such legal system is a key to understand the environmental laws in the U.S. The development and evolution of the “Federal Water Pollution Control Act” indicates the process from the personal interests protection to public welfare, and then to the maintenance of the integrity of the ecosystem. Therefore, such legislation played a key role in coordination between the social welfare and environmental protection. In addition, the legislation promoted the interaction between the federal government and the states in water pollution control. Through revision of the legislation, the federal government gradually enhanced the authority and the status of national environmental management.
