300 Small Businesses Call for Restoring Clean Water Act Protections

Environment America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business is set to hold a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to critical waterways across the country, including the drinking water for 117 million Americans.

 

Environment America Federal Clean Water Advocate Ally Fields issued the following statement in response:

 

“From the Missouri River in Chairman Graves’ district, to the Potomac here in Washington, our waterways are critical to our health and our way of life. In order to protect America’s rivers, lakes and bays, we need the Clean Water Act to protect the smaller waterways that filter and feed them. Right now, loopholes in the Clean Water Act leave more than 2 million miles of streams and the drinking water for 117 million Americans at risk of unchecked pollution. The EPA’s proposed rule is a commonsense step to protect the waterways we love so we can enjoy them for years to come.

 

“There isn’t a small business in America that doesn’t need clean water to thrive. That’s why more than 300 small businesses across the country are standing with us to call on the EPA to move forward with this rulemaking now and restore protections to critical waterways across the country. Allowing any of our waterways to be vulnerable to pollution and development means we leave our small businesses, farms, and families vulnerable as well. We stand by the EPA in full support of their efforts to keep our waterways clean and healthy now and for future generations.”