Our Rivers, Lakes & Streams News

STATEMENT OF JOHN RUMPLER, SENIOR ATTORNEY FOR ENVIRONMENT AMERICA, ON UNLAWFUL POLLUTION THREATENING CLEAN WATER.

Americans, we care deeply about clean water. Our rivers, lakes, streams, and bays are at the heart of America’s natural heritage. These are the beaches where our children play, the places where ospreys and eagles make their homes, and the waters we draw upon to drink.  And that is why Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 – to ensure that these waters would be clean for generations to come. 

Thirty-seven years later, polluters are still using our waterways as dumping grounds for toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and raw sewage.  As documented in our Troubled Waters report, major industrial and sewage plants continue to put far more pollution into our waters than the law allows.* And in one year alone, more than 600 of these facilities were chronic offenders – exceeding pollution limits again and again.

With so many facilities dumping so much pollution, no one should be surprised that nearly half of our rivers and streams are unsafe for swimming and fishing.

Here are three steps we can take to move from pervasive pollution to clean rivers, lakes, and streams: 

First, we need to put environmental cops back on the beat.  When polluters break the law and foul our waters, the penalties must be certain, swift, and tough enough that it no longer pays to pollute. 

Second, we need to dedicate the resources that clean water demands. We commend Congress and the Obama administration for dedicating $4 billion to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund in the economic stimulus package. Now we must sustain this public investment if we want to end sewage overflows. 

Third, we must ensure that the Clean Water Act once again applies to all of our waterways. This is one clean water enforcement issue that the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee can solve quickly. We hope that it will.

We urge Congress, EPA, and the states to seize this moment and vigorously enforce the Clean Water Act.

*Troubled Waters:  An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance (October 2007).  Available at http://www.environmentamerica.org/home/reports/report-archives/our-rivers-lakes-and-streams/our-rivers-lakes-and-streams/troubled-waters-an-analysis-of-2005-clean-water-act-compliance