Which act, enacted in 1974, established maximum contaminant levels for drinking water?

Which act, enacted in 1974, established maximum contaminant levels for drinking water?

• A. Clean Water Act
• B. Safe Drinking Water Act
• C. National Environmental Policy Act
• D. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

Answer: (B)

Setting enforceable drinking-water standards to protect public health is what this tests. The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, created the framework for establishing maximum contaminant levels for contaminants in public drinking water and gave the EPA the authority to set and enforce these limits. These maximum contaminant levels are the highest permissible amounts of specific substances in water delivered to consumers, chosen based on health risk assessments and what is practically achievable with available treatment technologies. Water systems must monitor, treat, and report to ensure compliance, with states helping oversee enforcement. Other major environmental laws address different issues—pollution of rivers, lakes, and streams; requirements for evaluating environmental impacts; and regulation of pesticides—not the drinking-water standards established by this act.

Setting enforceable drinking-water standards to protect public health is what this tests. The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, created the framework for establishing maximum contaminant levels for contaminants in public drinking water and gave the EPA the authority to set and enforce these limits. These maximum contaminant levels are the highest permissible amounts of specific substances in water delivered to consumers, chosen based on health risk assessments and what is practically achievable with available treatment technologies. Water systems must monitor, treat, and report to ensure compliance, with states helping oversee enforcement. Other major environmental laws address different issues—pollution of rivers, lakes, and streams; requirements for evaluating environmental impacts; and regulation of pesticides—not the drinking-water standards established by this act.