The Troubled Waters of Deepwater Horizon

Under the Clean Water Act of 1972, it is illegal to discharge a pollutant from a point source such as a pipe or man-made ditch into navigable waters of the United States without a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. Pollutants include not only major forms like oil spills, but even water with greater sedimentation that blocks sunlight, and water of a higher temperature.