Washington, DC - Congressman Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), along with several House colleagues, sent
a letter to President Bush urging him not to undermine environmental protections for our nation's waterways.  Recently, the Bush administration announced a plan to eliminate Clean Water Act jurisdiction over many of the nation's streams, wetlands and other waters that have long been protected by
the federal law.

"Over the last 30 years, we have made great progress toward meeting the goal of the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the integrity of the nation's waters," said Towns.  "If the President goes forward with this proposal, it would be a giant step backward."

Specifically, the proposed rule would end the federal pollution regulation of waters such as streams, creeks, ponds, small tributaries, and wetlands - many of which serve as source waters for or are directly connected to the waters that communities depend upon for drinking water. The Administration's claims it is relying on a recent Supreme Court ruling that eliminated Clean Water Act jurisdiction over so-called "isolated" intrastate, non-navigatable waters where the sole basis for the Act's jurisdiction was the use of the waters as habitat for migratory birds. However, the Administration's proposal goes way beyond the scope of the Court's decision.  Towns also noted that the Supreme Court's decision does not suggest that Clean Water Act needs to be weakened

"It should come as no surprise that this administration used the Court's decision as cover for allowing industries to dump pollutants into unprotected waters," said Towns.  "Overall, the new guidance would put
environmental protections at risk for about 20 percent of the nation's wetlands and countless miles of streams across the country."

Under the Administration's plan, developers could fill creeks, ponds, streams and wetlands without federal permits, which could lead to flooding, property damages and a loss of fish and wildlife habitats.  Additionally, industries could also dump any pollutants such as oil, sewage or animal
waster into unprotected waters.

Earth Justice, a national environmental adequacy group, wrote Towns to thank him for urging the President not to adopt this harmful rule.

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