Clean Water Restoration Act is key to safeguarding water resources for millions of Americans

Today, Clean Water Action Minnesota applauds passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a party line vote of 12 – 7. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar played a key role in the smooth passage of the bill.

“This vote is a strong rejection of the last Administration’s ‘No Protection Policy’ that threatened the drinking water sources for at least 110 million people, including over 950,000 Minnesotans,” said Clean Water Action Program Coordinator Darrell Gerber.

Beginning in early 2003, special interests pressured the Bush Administration to put policies in place that confused and delayed permits under the Clean Water Act and limited enforcement of the Act’s programs. These policies, coupled with misinterpretations of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, brought enforcement of the Clean Water Act to a virtual halt and left America’s water supplies and public health safeguards at risk.

Clarifying which bodies of water are protected by the Clean Water Act is critical to protecting drinking water sources and to limiting destruction of wetlands and other waters that play a role in flood control and provide wildlife habitat. Failure to protect these water resources could result in over $30 billion of annual flood damages in the continental United States and the loss of $122 billion of fish and wildlife-recreation expenditures.

There is wide support for Congressional action to fix the Clean Water Act and restore the protections that were in place just six short years ago. Earlier this year, more than 160 scientists sent a letter to President Obama urging him to support the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would reaffirm in law the interdependence of all our waters–a concept widely recognized by scientists for decades.

“37 years ago, Congress understood the importance of protecting small streams and wetlands and passed the Clean Water Act to protect all of America's waters," said Gerber. "It has been one of the most successful environmental laws in history. Under the Bush Administration, courts and government agencies muddied the issue. Only Congress can fix this problem and it is important President Obama make clear his support for the Clean Water Restoration Act."