Clean Water Act (CWA)
A guide to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
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Lexis (Password Required) |
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Westlaw (Password Required) |
Books
Additional materials on the Clean Water Act, water law, water rights, and related topics can be located using JACOB, the Library's catalog.
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Clean Water Act Essentials, 3d ed.
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Provides an overview of the CWA, its implementing regulations, historical developments, and the impact of recent critical cases and regulatory developments. -
Clean Water Policy and State Choice
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Examines the patterns of state program resource distribution using case studies and analysis of state and national program data. -
Evaluating the Water Quality Effects of TMDL Implementation: How States Have Done It and the Lessons Learned
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Highlights the diversity of approaches to evaluating the water quality effects of TMDL implementation, explains some of those methods, and conveys lessons learned. It also details terminology challenges and identifies relevant resource materials. -
Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource
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Analyzes the ongoing power struggle between the president and federal agencies, the courts, the states, and Congress, over water quality. -
Wetlands Law and Policy: Understanding Section 404, 2d ed.
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Discusses the ecology issues of wetlands, the role of the states in implementing Section 404, takings issues, EPA veto, enforcement and judicial review, and agricultural programs.
Treatises
Treatises, written by legal scholars and practitioners, provide current, in-depth analysis and commentary on an area of environmental law. Search JACOB, the Library's catalog, to locate treatises which discuss the clean water act and related issues. For example:
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Environmental Law
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Environmental Law Practice Guide
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Law of Water Rights & Resources
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Law of Wetlands Regulation
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State Environmental Law
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Treatise on Environmental Law
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Waters and Water Rights
Newsletters & Selected Journals
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The Conversation: Environment & EnergyAn independent source of news, analysis and expert opinion, written by academics and researchers. The Associated Press distributes The Conversation US articles daily to thousands of newsrooms.
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ELR: Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis(Environmental Law Institute (ELI))
News & Analysis monthly journal provides concise analysis and reporting on new developments in environmental law. -
Environment & Energy (E&E) Online PublicationsProvides daily coverage of environmental and energy policy and markets. Includes EnergyWire, ClimateWire, E&E Daily, Greenwire, and E&ENews PM.
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The Environmental Forum(Environmental Law Institute (ELI)).
Presents diverse points of view and debate on current environmental law, policy and management issues in all sectors. -
George Washington Journal of Energy & Environmental Law (JEEL)Focuses on scholarship at the intersection of energy and environmental law and is published by the George Washington University Law School.
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InsideEPA.com: Newsletters: Water Policy ReportProvides in-depth reporting on federal policy relating to energy, the environment and water.
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Law360News articles report on major litigation developments in 20 specialized practice areas; articles link to court dockets and key documents.
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The Regulatory Review: Environment(University of Pennsylvania Law School, Penn Program on Regulation)
A weekly online source of regulatory news, analysis, and opinion.
Full Text Law Journal Databases
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Google ScholarGoogle Scholar indexes scholarly publications in a variety of fields.
Tip: To get links from Google Scholar to GW Libraries full text, even when off campus, go to Google Scholar > Settings > Library Links, add "george washington," and "Save."
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HeinOnline: Law Journal Library: Advanced Search
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Lexis: Advanced Search: Law Reviews & Journals
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vLexJustisFull-text access to selected journals from 140 countries. Updated daily.
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Westlaw: Advanced Search: Law Reviews & Journals
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Digital Commons Network: Law CommonsFree, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide.
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SSRN: Social Science Research NetworkComposed of a number of specialized research networks in each of the social sciences, making available scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers.
Indexes to the Legal Literature
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Current Index to Legal Periodicals (CILP)(HeinOnline)
Provides citations to current law journal articles. -
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (IFLP)(HeinOnline)
Provides citations to journal articles with selected full text. -
Legal SourceProvides citations to journal articles with selected full text.
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LegalTracProvides citations to journal articles with selected full text.
Blogs
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Bloomberg Law: NewsSelect: Web Sources > Alternative Web Content > Blog Web Content
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Justia BlawgSearchA directory of selected blogs on the free web. Browse by category or search by keyword.
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LegalPlanetA blog maintained by BerkeleyLaw and UCLA Law providing commentary on environmental law & policy issues.
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Lexis: News: Blogs
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Westlaw: News: Blogs
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports
GAO is an independent, nonpartisan auditing arm of Congress. GAO monitors how federal agencies spend and reports on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
CRS attorneys write reports containing concise, nonpartisan analysis of policy issues before Congress.
Some CRS reports are periodically revised. To locate the most recent version of a report or other CRS reports, search:
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Bloomberg Law
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Congress.gov
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HeinOnline
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ProQuest Congressional
Examples:
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Management of the Colorado River: Water Allocations, Drought, and the Federal Role (2025)
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Waters of the United States (WOTUS): Frequently Asked Questions About the Scope of the Clean Water Act (2025)