Clean Water Act Is Sailing a Choppy Course to Renewal

■ Rewrite of 1987 bill would shift focus of cleanup from endofpipe controls to entire watershed protection Last year Congressional pundits were betting that renewal of the Clean Water Act of 1987 would sail smoothly through the second half of the 102nd Congress. Today, at the beginning of an election year, they aren't so sanguine. The short legislative session and competing priorities—addressing the problems of a depressed economy and renewing other key environmental laws—are making these crystal-ball gazers hedge their bets. The Clean Water Act is up for renewal now because funding is running out for programs authorized under it. Whether and to what extent it is reauthorized will depend on the content of bills thrown into the legislative hopper and even on when they are offered. Competing for Congressional attention is renewal of another key environmental law, the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA). If clean water bills are ...