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Clean Water: Muskie and the Environment

Edmund S. Muskie letter to the editor, 1971

Edmund S. Muskie letter to the editor, 1971

Item 25835 info
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

While the no-discharge goal that Muskie and his allied promoted has yet to be achieved, the 1972 Clean Water Act is credited with leading to improved water quality in rivers, lakes and streams.

In the years since the bill passed, agricultural and urban runoff, in particular, have been greatly reduced.

While many were concerned about the costs to industry and to employment, as Muskie's letter to the editor suggests, the bill did not lead to the dire results some predicted.