It’s interesting that you quietly swap in “people” where history mostly shows industrial corporations dumping waste for profit.

I didnt realize corporations were sentient entities capable of acting on their own, rather than groups of people doing people things…

The 1899 act was legitimately created because everyday people were literally throwing their garbage into water as a form of waste management. So much so that it was difficult to navigate boats safely, ergo “Rivers and Harbors Act” as in the places that were affected by floating masses of garbage