Bipartisan Cong. Coalition Urges *Admin Not to Cripple Clean Water Act

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218 Representatives leaning on the Bush Administration. This is great news!

Bipartisan Congressional Coalition Urges Bush Administration Not to Cripple Clean Water Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2003

Contact:
Wendy Balazik, 202-675-2383

BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL COALITION URGES BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOT TO CRIPPLE CLEAN WATER ACT

Washington, DC-A bipartisan group of 218 members of the U.S. House of Representatives today asked the Bush administration to halt its attempt to eliminate 30-year-old provisions of the Clean Water Act that protect small streams and wetlands. The House members sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to the President prior to departing for Thanksgiving break.

The congressional letter challenges the Bush administration's initiative to limit the scope of the Clean Water Act. In January, the administration issued an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" that asked for public comment on whether Clean Water Act protections should apply to waters that are "isolated," non-navigable and contained wholly within a state. At the same time, the administration instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers not to enforce the Clean Water Act for these waters without first seeking permission from headquarters. The EPA estimated that protections could be eliminated for up to 20 million acres of wetlands outside Alaska. Without current protections, the wetlands and small streams would be vulnerable to pollution from increased development, industrial uses, mining and waste disposal.

"Our nation has made tremendous gains in cleaning up our lakes, rivers and streams since the 1970s, but the Bush administration's actions threaten to reverse the progress, taking us backwards," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director. "We are grateful that 218 members of Congress are sending the Bush administration a wake-up call: 'don't weaken the Clean Water Act.'"

Protecting headwater streams and wetlands is essential to safeguarding drinking water supplies, mitigating floods, making water safe for fishing and swimming, and protecting habitat for threatened and endangered species and migratory birds. Recognizing the potential harm the Bush administration's rulemaking could cause, 39 of the 42 state environmental agencies that commented on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking were critical of reducing the scope of protected waters.

A draft rule change, recently leaked to Los Angeles Times, suggests the scope of the Bush administration's changes to clean water rules. The draft rule eliminates protections for: streams that do not flow for more than six months of the year and are not fed by groundwater; streams created by snowmelt or rainfall; waters that generate interstate commerce through birdwatching, hunting and fishing and other recreation; waters used for industrial purposes; and waters that provide habitat to endangered species.

"The Bush administration's changes are completely inconsistent with the original purpose of the Clean Water Act, misinterpret court rulings, and certainly fail the most basic tests of scientific understanding of our waters," said Pope. "Continued congressional oversight is essential to protecting America's waters. We particularly thank the Members of Congress who showed leadership in initiating this letter: Representatives Dingell, Leach, Oberstar and Saxton."

Wendy Balazik
Media Coordinator
Sierra Club
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]