Tell Your Senators: Vote NO on Dirty Water

08/02/2011 Update: Congress is now adjourning for their summer break until September 6. Many of the dirty water bills and riders that we have been monitoring are now on hold. We expect that many of the dirty water bills and appropriations proposals, with dangerous policy riders and serious funding cuts to environmental programs, will be resurrected in some way, shape or form this Fall, whether in Continuing Resolutions or an Omnibus Funding package.
 
Last month, we told you about HR 2018, a dirty water bill that passed out of committee with ZERO public debate. The bill is probably the boldest attempt we have seen in years to dismantle the Clean Water Act. 
 
Many of you took action, writing to your respresentative and urging him or her to vote NO on HR 2018. 
 
Despite our best efforts, HR 2018 has passed the House and is now headed for the Senate. What's more, several other bills could soon be on their way to the Senate floor. 
 
We need to take action RIGHT NOW and tell our US Senators to vote no on ALL DIRTY WATER BILLS! Take action below!

 

Dear Senator:

The Clean Water Act is one of our nation's most important and fundamental laws. Several attempts to weaken this landmark legislation are making their way through the House. One bill, HR 2018, passed out of committee with little opportunity for citizen input and passed the full House 239 to 184. I am writing to urge you to vote against the Senate's version of HR 2018, as well as any other dirty water bills that come to the Senate floor. Passage of these bills will have deleterious impacts on our nation's clean water and would create regulatory uncertainty.

HR 2018 would reverse many key provisions of the Clean Water Act by appointing the states, rather than the EPA, as the ultimate arbiter of water quality standards and final authority on Clean Water Act permits. The result would be a patchwork of state water quality standards in which the EPA would be powerless to interject, even if they found a state-issued Clean Water Act permit to be questionable.

By allowing states to opt out of implementing federal water quality standards, not only are citizens of the communities near polluters affected, downstream communities in other states would also suffer from the pollution flowing into their drinking water supplies from upstream states willing to adopt scientifically indefensible water quality standards that sacrifice public health for corporate profits.

I urge you to OPPOSE HR 2018 and other dirty water bills.

Sincerely,

Enter Postal Code in format 12345 or 12345-1234.