Dive Into Democracy is Waterkeeper Alliance’s weekly roundup of current attacks on America’s clean water protections and how to take action. Want to get them in your email? Sign up here.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and laws like the Clean Water Act stop companies from dumping waste into waterways and endangering communities. But now, EPA and the Clean Water Act are under attack.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has an indisputable history of prioritizing polluters’ profits over environmental protections. Already, he is taking action to roll back the protections of the Clean Water Act and immediately began to implement President Trump’s executive order that intends to limit the number of waterways that can be protected under the Clean Water Act.
Congress has joined in these attacks and is proposing the following bills that will directly attack our clean water protections:
- H.R. 1179 attacks citizen suits – a vital aspect of the Clean Water Act which gives citizens the ability to bring a polluter to court when government fails to enforce the law.
- H.R. 1261 would limit the number of waterways that are protected under the Clean Water Act.
- H.R. 848 would shield industrial meat production from waste management regulations and would bar citizens from taking action to address this pollution.
- H.R. 465 would allow cities and municipalities to allow sewage and polluted stormwater to enter waterways if they decide the costs of prevention are too high.
- H.R. 953 would allow pesticides be discharged into waterways without a permit.
In order to stop these threats, we need you to call your Representative and Senators this week and let them know their constituents value clean water and are paying attention.
Find their contact information:
[CongressLookup]
Call them and say:
“My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a resident of zip code [ZIP CODE]. Clean water is important to me. Communities have the right to drinkable, fishable, swimmable water. I do not want polluters to have greater freedom to use our waterways as dumps. As your constituent, I ask you to oppose any effort to limit the Clean Water Act and the vital protections it provides to communities. The bills H.R. 1179, H.R. 1261, H.R. 848, H.R. 465, and H.R. 953, would all allow more pollutants into our waterways, and I ask that you oppose them.”
Tip: If you want to check if your Representative has sponsored or cosponsored any of the bills, click on the links on the bill numbers, and tailor your message. Your voice will be even stronger if you call out your Representative for supporting a bad bill.