Since its major amendment in 1972, the nationally enforced Clean Water Act (CWA) has greatly restricted the amount of contaminants entering navigable open surface waters in America by setting a wastewater standard for industries and businesses. Not only has this improved water conditions to meet the needs of people, the environment has benefited as well. However, confusion about what the CWA covers arose during the trials of Supreme Court cases SWANCC (2001) and Rapanos (2006). The major questions that emerged during the cases were these: Does the CWA protect certain

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] By Kaley Beins Today some parts of the U.S. celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day to honor the history and culture of indigenous people in the Americas, while recognizing and protesting the extreme violence that these people faced from Columbus and other Europeans. Yet simple recognition of past wrongs does little for the many Native American tribes, nations, and people who still face intense socioeconomic and health disparities.