10/15/2007
(Waterkeeper Alliance)

On the 35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, Congress needs to recommit the nation to clean water and healthy communities. In 1972, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act. Congress made a promise to the American public that the sewage stench, oil spills and burning rivers of the 1960s would be a distant memory. The goals of the law were broad and ambitious: fishable and swimmable waterways and zero discharge of pollution into our rivers, lakes and coastal waters by 1985. We’ve missed the deadline, but the goals and the law remain in effect. The Clean Water Act helped establish and upgrade sewage treatment plants around the nation and required polluters begin to clean up their wastes. But progress has come to a stop.

Today, our waterways are still polluted and the protection we largely take for granted has been eroded and abandoned. Enforcement of the law is weak and programs to force industry to use modern technologies to reduce pollution have been abandoned. Factories operate with antiquated technology and long expired permits. When it rains, wastewater treatment plants send raw sewage flowing into our rivers. Regulators ignore the law and allow factory farms to use our waterways for waste disposal. To make matters worse, federal agencies now decline to exercise their jurisdiction over many streams and wetlands that were once protected by the law. Our nation’s waterways are in trouble.

Getting back on track for clean water will require strong leadership. Congress must pass the Clean Water Restoration Act to ensure that all of our wetlands and streams receive legal protection. Congress must fund drinking water and clean water infrastructure to keep sewage out of our drinking water the rivers, lakes and streams that we fish and swim in. And Congress should take a close look at federal and state environmental enforcement, because much of the pollution in our waterways is illegal and no one should be allowed to break the law. This anniversary must serve as a wakeup call. Our waterways are polluted. Our wetlands and streams are disappearing. With them go our most beautiful, most cherished places. It’s time for Congress to act to protect our waterways, again.

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Last month, Riverkeeper asked its members to call the few remaining New York Congressional delegates who have yet to co-sponsor the Clean Water Restoration Act. Despite your efforts, they have yet to sign on! In recognition of the 35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, Riverkeeper is joining this month with Waterkeeper Alliance and other environmental groups across the country, asking the public to contact our leaders in Washington again, and urge them to pass this legislation. Take Action