EPA holds event in Cleveland to mark 50 years since Clean Water Act

CLEVELAND — It has been 50 years since the Clean Water Act, and the moment was marked with a special event Tuesday morning along the banks of the Cuyahoga River at Merwin’s Wharf in Cleveland. 

Why Cleveland? The Cuyahoga River was among the polluted sites across the country that inspired the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act. Organizers cited the river's "history of pollution so serious" that it "infamously caught fire on numerous occasions."

Organizers labeled the event as a "forum discussion highlighting the role of past and future clean water investment and bipartisan legislation in transforming the nation's waterways."

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan was the featured speaker.

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Those who participated in the event include:

• U.S. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan
• Council for Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory
• U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox
• Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor
• Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12)
• Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb
• Clean water advocates
• Community leaders

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