What Actions Could Governor Terry Mcauliffe Pursue On...

To: Governor Terry McAuliffe Date: November 16, 2016 From: Dylan Williams Re: Water Pollution Problem Statement: What actions could Governor Terry McAuliffe pursue to reduce water pollution in Virginia? Background: Water pollution, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, â€Å"happens when toxic substances enter water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and so on, getting dissolved in them, lying suspended in the water or depositing on the bed.†1 In 1948, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed by congress, but was later amended in 1972 in response to great public outcry—this amended document is what is now known as the Clean Water Act.2 Despite these national efforts, in a report released by the Environment America Research Policy Center in 2014, Virginia was listed as one of the top five states with the largest discharge of toxic substances into waterways, documented at over eleven million pounds.3 Furthermore, in a 2014 report conducted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, it was found that the water pollution has spread throughout sixteen-thousand miles of the state’s rivers.4 It is cited that the largest contributors to water pollution are power plants, pulp, paper and paperboard mills, slaughterhouses and poultry plants.5 In smaller farming operations, contamination is considered â€Å"non-point source† because the animal waste and fertilizer of farming are brought into the soil and washed away by rain and into the water supply.6 These