Federal Rollbacks Are Eroding Long-Standing Clean Water Act Protections: Congress Must Act Now!

In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States (SWANCC ) removed federal protection of "isolated" waters based solely on their use by migratory birds. In 2006, the Court issued its decision in the consolidated Carabell v. United States and Rapanos v. United States cases. While environmentalists and regulators hoped for clarification of federal jurisdiction under the CWA, the Court's discussion of the "significant nexus" test failed to provide answers.

Aiming to correct outstanding ambiguity in the law before more environmental damage is done, a bipartisan coalition of Senators and Representatives introduced a bill known as the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA) to in 2003, and again in 2005. Reintroduced in 2007 as the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA)(H.R. 2421/S. 1870), support for this critical legislation continues to grow.

CWRA provides a clear statutory definition of “waters of the U.S.” and a clear Congressional mandate for the CWA to protect all of our Nation’s waters and wetlands. Congress has the power to prevent further erosion of the Act by judicial interpretation and can avoid future legal challenges from industries who want to see the CWA completely gutted!

What CWARA Will Do:
If passed, CWRA will protect from pollution all waters of the United States, as Congress intended when it passed the CWA in 1972. Specifically, it will amend the CWA and clearly define “waters of the United States” to include “intrastate” and “intermittent” waterbodies. These amendment will:

* Replace disputed terms: CWRA will amend the CWA to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States;" and

* Correctly define “waters of the United States”: CWA Section 502 (33. U.S.C. §1362) will be amended to define “waters of the United States” as “all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting these waters, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.”

Where the Bill is now: H.R. 2421 was introduced by Rep. James Oberstar on May 22, 2007 and was referred to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. In mid-July, congressional hearings held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee focused on CWRA and the need for CWA amendments. S.1870 was introduced by Sen. Russell D. Feingold on July 25, 2007 and was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Where Does Your Representative Stand?
To see the list of cosponsors, read the bill text, introductory remarks, and track the bills' status, go to THOMAS.

What you can do:
Senator Schumer and 22 of 29 House of Representatives Members already are on board. Please call the Representatives listed below and urge them to cosponsor CWRA today!

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton---(202) 224-4451
Rep. Peter T. King, 3rd District---(202) 225-7896
Rep. Vito Fossella, 13th District---(202) 225-3371
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, 14th District---(202) 225-7944
Rep. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, 20th District---(202) 225-1168
Rep. John M. McHugh, 23rd District---(202) 225-4611
Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, 26th District---(202) 225-5265
Rep. John R. Kuhl, 29th District---(202) 225-3161

If your Representative is a cosponsor, please ask them to be an active cosponsor. Our waters are counting on you!

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