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This Week in the News
October 20, 2009
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Holds Clean Water Act Enforcement Hearing
On Thursday, October 15, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing marking the 37th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act. Eleven witnesses, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, spoke about the current state of Clean Water Act enforcement.
At the hearing, Administrator Jackson drew a clear connection between restoring Clean Water Act protections and the EPA's poor enforcement record, saying "enforcement is made harder when you don't know if you have jurisdiction."
Administrator Jackson made a plea to the Representatives on the Committee and to Congress as a whole to reestablish historic Clean Water Act protections, acknowledging that only Congress has the power to restore this power to EPA, and guarantee everyone's right to clean water.
Read more about the hearing.
October 9, 2009
More than 1/3 of Americans' Drinking Waters at Risk
According to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency report 117 million Americans' drinking water is supplied by smaller streams, which no longer fall under the Clean Water Act.
According to the EPA's data:
October 4, 2009
New Denver Post Op-Ed Calls for Restoration of Clean Water Act
A recent Op-Ed in the Denver Post wishes Congress "godspeed" in repairing the damage to the Clean Water Act. According to the paper, 73% of Colorado's waterways are at risk.
Find out more and leave a comment to show your support for clean and healthy waters. |
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 About the Clean Water Restoration Act
The Clean Water Act, passed by Congress in 1972, sought to protect America's surface water bodies from pollution and degradation. Recent case decisions in the Supreme Court have compromised that protection.
Clean water fuels our existence. We need it to drink, to grow our food and to sustain our outdoor lifestyles (swimming, boating, and fishing). It is absolutely vital to the health of wildlife and their habitat. The Clean Water Restoration Act is urgently needed to keep our remaining wetlands, streams, lakes, and rivers safe and pollution-free.
| Yet, Clean Water Act opponents are attacking this critical legislation, claiming that:
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Authors of the Clean Water Restoration Act are proposing to remove the term “navigable” as it describes protected waters—but not so the Federal Government will regulate every puddle, bird bath, and swimming pool! (Humorous hyperbole, but it's just not true.) Instead, they’re acknowledging an undisputed truth recognized by the authors of the original Clean Water Act in 1972: water flows—across roads, through wetlands, into rivers, and across political boundaries. For almost 30 years, until the 2001 Supreme Court decision, most non-navigable waters were protected because unless we prevent pollution at its source, in the non-navigable headwaters and wetlands of each watershed, we cannot possibly "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters," the critically important goal of the Clean Water Act. Simply regulating "navigable" waters will never maintain and restore our water supplies.
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Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It
Case studies and specific examples of how the Clean Water Act has been misused demonstrates the mounting risk to America's water bodies. This report describes where the system is breaking and how the Clean Water Restoration can repair it.
Download the report
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What's Happening In Congress:
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing, The Clean Water Act after 37 Years: Recommitting to the Protection of the Nation's Waters, on October 15th.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed an amended version of the Clean Water Restoration Act (S. 787) in June.
Read more CWRA updates. | |
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