[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 63661-63662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22935]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 202 / Thursday, October 20, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 63661]]

                Proclamation 10480 of October 17, 2022

                
50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Fifty years ago, the Congress passed the Clean Water 
                Act of 1972, revolutionizing America's responsibility 
                to protect and restore the vital waterways that sustain 
                our communities, our economy, and our ecosystems.

                Before this landmark legislation, America's waters were 
                in crisis, often flooded and even on fire with toxic 
                pollution and cancer-causing contaminants. Industrial 
                waste and sewage threatened our drinking water, and 
                wetlands disappeared at an alarming rate. The Clean 
                Water Act met these challenges head-on, setting and 
                enforcing national water quality standards, restricting 
                pollution, and investing in wastewater treatment and 
                better wetlands management.

                Five decades later, our Nation's waters are 
                dramatically cleaner. Once dead rivers and lakes are 
                now flourishing with wildlife. People have returned to 
                boat, fish, and swim. Sacred waters that Tribal Nations 
                have relied on for generations are clean again. This is 
                a testament to the tireless partnerships that the 
                Environmental Protection Agency has forged with State, 
                local, and Tribal governments. It is a powerful tribute 
                not only to the activists who first sounded the alarm, 
                built a movement, and fought to pass this powerful law 
                but also to the Americans everywhere who have since 
                done so much to help enforce it, safeguarding our 
                waterways and taking on polluters in court.

                Today, we still face serious threats to clean water--
                from climate change-driven droughts and rising sea 
                levels to long-standing environmental injustices that 
                have left too many communities without safe drinking 
                water. That is why my Administration restored Federal 
                protections to hundreds of thousands of streams, 
                wetlands, and waterways and is working across the 
                Federal Government to combat pollution from deadly per- 
                and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Our historic Bipartisan 
                Infrastructure Law makes our Nation's biggest-ever 
                investment in water, clearing legacy pollution, helping 
                replace lead pipes across the country, and building 
                more resilient infrastructure so that every child in 
                America can turn on the faucet at home or school for 
                safe drinking water. The Inflation Reduction Act takes 
                America's most aggressive climate action ever, helping 
                to protect the world's waterways long into the future.

                As we celebrate the anniversary of this law, my 
                Administration is more committed than ever to 
                continuing its legacy, providing access to safe water, 
                and restoring a healthier planet. The Clean Water Act 
                is a powerful reminder of Americans' ability to make 
                change for the better when we work together.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 18, 
                2022, as the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. I 
                call upon all Americans to observe this milestone, 
                recognize the significant contribution the Clean Water 
                Act has made to restoring our Nation's waters, consider 
                the crucial role clean water plays in each of our 
                lives, and recommit to protecting our shared water 
                resources.

[[Page 63662]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-22935
Filed 10-19-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P