UCR has learned that H.R. 2018 – called the “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act” – probably will come up for a vote in the House of Representatives this week. Derided by supporters of clean water as the "Dirty Water Bill," this dangerous legislation would derail 40 years of clean water work by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Below is an op-ed piece penned by UCR’s Sally Bethea and scheduled to run in some Georgia newspapers this week. Please read the piece, share with your friends, and contact your Congressional representative today!
Urgent! Tell our Congressional rep to stop H.R. 2018 ('Dirty Water Bill'), up for a vote this week
By Sally Bethea
It may be hard for some Georgians to remember, but there was a time when our nation's rivers caught on fire because they were filled with toxic waste. Other waterways were filled with sludge worms feasting on partially treated sewage downstream of cities.
Thanks to the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972, we have made significant progress in restoring our rivers, lakes and coast to protect drinking water supplies, recreational areas and downstream property values.
Forty years later, there is an aggressive effort to dismantle this federal law with a bill introduced in Congress just a few weeks ago — the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018). Don’t be fooled by the name. This legislation would gut the Clean Water Act and jeopardize the gains that we have made over four decades.
Proponents of H.R. 2018 want to remove key components of federal oversight and place them squarely on the shoulders of the states – whose water-quality standards and enforcement capability vary wildly. If it passes, this legislation will remove the important role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in ensuring a level playing field across our county by shifting its existing powers to the states. H.R. 2018 would:
• Prevent the EPA from stepping in if Georgia fails to adequately protect our waterways from pollution,
• Discourage informed decision making on federal permits that impact water quality and public health,
• Prevent the EPA from updating outdated and ineffective water quality standards, and
• Undermine EPA’s ability to protect states from cross-border pollution.
To read the rest of this op-ed, follow this link.
Contact your Congressional representative today and urge them to oppose H.R. 2018.
To find out who your representative is, go to
www.congress.org.
CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REP IN CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER WATERSHED:
Sanford Bishop (D), 2nd District, (202) 225-3631
Lynn Westmoreland (R)], 3rd District, 202-225-5901
Hank Johnson (D), 4th District, 202-225-1605
John Lewis (D), 5th District, 202-225-3801
Tom Price (R), 6th District, 202-225-4501
Rob Woodall (R), 7th District, 202-225-4272
Tom Graves (R), 9th District, 202-225-5211
Paul Broun (R), 10th District, 202-225-4101
Phil Gingrey (R), 11th District, 202-225-2931
David Scott (D), 13th District, 202-225-2939
