[The National Water Pollution Control Program]

In a speech before a water pollution control association, GAO reviewed the substantial changes which the National Water Pollution Control Program has undergone and the further challenges it faces as newly enacted legislation and additional budget cuts take hold. Water pollution abatement has advanced considerably and important successes have resulted, but the program has yet to achieve its goals. If success were measured in terms of funding, the program would probably be considered very successful. Over $38 billion has been appropriated for the program since 1972. Progress has been made under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program, and billions of pounds of pollutants which previously were discharged directly into the nation's waterways are now being removed. States have increased their water pollution control efforts to the point where in fiscal year 1982 they provided about 54 percent of water quality program management budgets. However, the control of nonpoint sources of pollution continues to be a problem, thousands of permits will soon expire and will need to be reissued, and there is a need to continue to develop, upgrade, and operate the vast infrastructure of collector and interceptor sewers and treatment plants. Strong program management must be maintained at various governmental levels in the face of stiff competition for limited resources. GAO cautioned that the Alternative and Innovative Technology Program may not provide the relief envisioned from high waste treatment costs; there continue to be ongoing problems of operating and maintaining waste treatment facilities, and few municipalities are setting aside funds to replace treatment plants at the end of their economic/technological lives.