Organizations Representing Millions Urge Congress to Reject Permitting Bill

Nearly 100 organizations, including Waterkeeper Alliance and 43 Waterkeeper groups, sent a joint letter to Congress urging lawmakers to reject sweeping changes to the Clean Water Act proposed in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA). Representing millions of members and supporters nationwide, the groups are calling on lawmakers to preserve longstanding clean water protections and oppose provisions that would weaken them.

The letter comes as the Senate voted 73-25 last night to advance BAAJA to consideration. Nearly all Senate Republicans, with the exception of Senator Rounds (R-SD), joined more than a dozen Democrats in voting to proceed. Notably, Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) was the only Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to vote in favor of advancing the bill, despite widespread opposition from environmental organizations.

Specifically, the community-led letter details concerns about the legislation’s far-reaching consequences for the nation’s waterways. It includes provisions that would weaken Clean Water Act protections, limit the authority of states and Tribes to maintain water quality and preserve cultural resources, and make it easier for the oil and gas industry to advance projects with less environmental oversight. The bill will also accelerate fossil fuel infrastructure development, extend the duration of water pollution permits, and limit opportunities for communities to challenge projects that threaten their waterways. The letter emphasizes that modernizing infrastructure and improving permitting processes should not come at the expense of environmental laws that are essential to public health and clean water.

“Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeeper groups across the U.S. have been sharing their concerns with Senate offices,” said Chelsea McDonald, Clean Water Defense Campaign Manager for Waterkeeper Alliance. “Rushing through a huge bill without proper consideration of environmental consequences will codify more ways to pass costs onto our communities. Despite how it has been marketed as progress, this bill is about energy to feed data centers and paving the pathway for polluters.”

This letter is the latest in a series of actions by the organization to build opposition to BAAJA and raise awareness of its potential consequences for clean water. Last month, the Alliance sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to reject the legislation and launched a related action alert that has since been signed by thousands of supporters.

Waterkeeper Alliance also joined Food & Water Watch, Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, Center for Food Safety, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and the National Family Farm Coalition in sending a separate letter to Congress focused on family farms, food systems, and environmental protection. The letter raised concerns that the bill could worsen industrial agriculture pollution and weaken oversight of factory farms.