Coral Reef Protection and the Clean Water Act

Coral reef communities are a national treasure. The Clean Water Act (CWA) can be a powerful legal instrument for protecting water resources, including the biological inhabitants of coral reefs. The objective of the CWA is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of water resources. Biological integrity is a long-term objective of the CWA and, like its physical and chemical counterparts, biological standards and criteria can be defined to protect valued aquatic...