Refuse Act
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| Other short titles | Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 |
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| Long title | An Act making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes. |
| Nicknames | Refuse Act of 1899 |
| Enacted by | the 55th United States Congress |
| Effective | March 3, 1899 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 55-425 |
| Statutes at Large | 30 Stat. 1121 aka 30 Stat. 1152 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 33 U.S.C.: Navigable Waters |
| U.S.C. sections created | 33 U.S.C. ch. 9, subch. I § 407 |
| Legislative history | |
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The Refuse Act is a United States federal statute governing use of waterways. The Act, a section of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, prohibited "dumping of refuse" into navigable waters, except by permit.
The Army Corps of Engineers administered the Act and initially focused on controlling debris that obstructed navigation.
In the 1960s, due to increasing public and governmental concern about water pollution, the federal government began to use the Act to control pollution. The government pursued court cases to prosecute dischargers of industrial waste to waterways. Notable cases include United States v. Republic Steel Corp. (1960) and U.S. v. Standard Oil Co. (1966).
Congress had enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) in 1948 to address water pollution problems, but this law gave the government limited enforcement authority. The Department of Interior, which administered the FWPCA (prior to 1972), developed a policy with the Department of Justice and the Army Corps of Engineers to use the Refuse Act as an enforcement tool, to complement the FWPCA. In 1970 President Richard Nixon issued an Executive Order creating a new permit program under the Refuse Act. The focus of the new permit program was on industrial pollution.
The Corps of Engineers began to issue the new discharge permits, but in 1971 a legal challenge halted the program.
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