We All Live Downstream

Congress debates our water

Editor’s note: This post was updated with new links on 7.18.11

Today the US House of Representatives will vote on a bill that we call a “temper tantrum in writing.” It will overturn key parts of the Clean Water Act because some Members of Congress don’t like recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to protect our water resources. And it’s not just us saying that.

Stand up to the Dirty Water Caucus now!

The Congressional Research Service had this to say about The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018).

While Congress has regularly registered concerns with regulatory initiatives of EPA and other federal agencies and sometimes considers legislative proposals to alter or de-fund an agency’s ability to implement a particular regulatory program, it is highly unusual for Congress to advance legislation that would broadly alter the federal-state partnership in order to address dissatisfaction with specific actions by EPA or another agency

There’s still time to weigh in with your elected officials on this. Please stand up for clean water.

By Robert Wendelgass, President and Chief Executive Officer
Editor’s note: This post was updated with new links on 7.18.11

Stop the Summer of Dirty Water

Dirty water kills fish in our rivers and streams. Dirty water can sicken people, killing the most vulnerable…the young, the old or those with other illnesses. And dirty water kills jobs in fishing, tourism and other recreational businesses…multi-billion dollar industries in the US.

Some legislators seem to have forgotten how important clean water is. They’ve forgotten the sorry state of our nation’s water resources forty years ago that led to passage of the Clean Water Act.

They’ve forgotten that before the Clean Water Act, rivers caught on fire, fish couldn’t survive in many of our rivers and streams. Even some of our Great Lakes were declared dead.

They want to go back to the bad old days before the Clean Water Act. We can’t let that happen. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jennifer Clary, California Program Associate

Water is a Human Right

Quick question: how do you know your water is safe? Many of our neighbors can’t answer that question.  More than 1 million Californians lack access to a regular supply of safe, clean, and affordable drinking water.  Many more are in danger of losing their access.

Take Action: Tell your Legislators that Water is a Human Right!

Life without safe tap water is frustrating – and expensive.  Residents must pay for tap water they can’t drink, but must also purchase bottled or vended water to replace it.  In some cases, community members spend up to three times the EPA affordability standard for water.  In addition, community members talk about the difficulty of preventing their children from drinking water from the tap, or from the hose on a hot day.
Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: Joshua Davis aka "railking"

By Andy Fellows, Chesapeake Regional Director

Chesapeake Bay has been on a “pollution diet” that has only one goal: Save the Bay.  On July 11th the Governors of 6 states and the head of the EPA received a progress report.  The good news: the “diet’ is meeting goals.  The bad news: Certain members of the political leadership are beginning to question the cost of cleaning up this enormous and enormously important watershed.

Clean Water Action is thrilled that that the Bay clean-up is “on track.”  Nothing could be more vital for the future our region’s water and health.  Unfortunately, the meeting of the Bay Watershed’s political leadership will only be significant if the Governors agree to stay on track.  Our leaders can choose two paths; to follow-through on commitments to restore the Bay, despite challenging cost considerations, or use the economic challenge to endlessly delay action.

We know which path to choose. We hope the Leadership agrees.

by Lynn Thorp

Editor’s note: This post was updated with new links on 7.18.11

Yesterday, U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID) told reporters that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “the scariest agency in the federal government.” That was after he cast a subcommittee vote for a spending bill that cuts EPA funding 18%. What’s more, the spending bill includes policy directives that don’t belong in spending bills. It’s just not effective way to run our government. Even worse, these directives block EPA’s mandated work to implement the law and protect our water, our air, our health and all the resources that enable us to thrive.

Read the rest of this entry »