E-M:/ Clean Water Action Reacts to Bush Backing Down

[Kym Spring <grandrapids@cleanwater.org>]

Press Release

For Immediate Release                   Contact:        Bethany Renfer, 517-203-0758
December 17, 2003                               Kym Spring, 616-742-4084                

Clean Water Action Reacts to Bush Administration
Backing Down

Michigan -- Clean Water Action welcomed today’s
Bush Administration move to withdraw a proposal that would have
significantly weakened protection of the nation’s waters under the Clean
Water Act.  

“Today’s decision shows that the American public wants strong laws to
protect public health and natural resources and that people’s voices can
stop bad policy,” said Clean Water Action’s National President David
Zwick.

Since the Fall of 2002, Clean Water Action (CWA) has opposed the effort
to remove 60% of streams, headlands tributaries, wetlands and other water
bodies from protection under the Clean Water Act, mobilizing over 50,000
communications from its members to President Bush, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Senators and Representatives on the
issue.

“While often characterized as a rule affecting wetlands, the
Administration’s proposal would have allowed pollution of drinking water
sources throughout Michigan,” said CWA Program Coordinator Bethany
Renfer.  The proposal, outlined in a January 2003 Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, would have severely restricted which bodies of water
are subject to Clean Water Act programs intended to reduce pollution and
insure that water is clean, fishable and swimmable. 

The proposal would have allowed contamination of water that makes its way
into drinking water sources all over Michigan.  Potential impacts
would have included increased microbial contamination from raw sewage in
drinking water sources, leading to public health problems and the need
for expensive new drinking water treatment.  “We should be enforcing
and strengthening the Clean Water Act and aggressively protecting
drinking water sources, not weakening the law and endangering public
health,” said Renfer.

The Clean Water Authority Restoration Act, intended to clarify that all
waters of the United States should receive Clean Water Act protection,
remains on the table in both the US House and Senate with bi-partisan
support.  In addition, 26 Senators and 218 members of the House
signed letters to President Bush urging that the rulemaking not go
forward.

Clean Water Action noted that a “Guidance” document to EPA field staff
and Army Corps of Engineers on when and how to permit wetlands
destruction, issued at the same time as EPA’s initial proposal, remains
in effect and should be rescinded to ensure adequate protection for all
water bodies.  In addition, several other critical water issues
remain on the table  including exemption from liability for MTBE
makers and users, federal water quality standards, water pollution
trading policies and the Clean Water Act’s “Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL)” program that would set long overdue plans for reducing pollution
into specific water bodies.

Clean Water Action is
a national organization working to ensure clean, safe and affordable
water, prevention of healththreatening pollution and creation of
environmentally safe jobs and businesses. CWA has approximately 100,000
members in Michigan, with offices in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Clinton
Township.

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