Congressman John D. Dingell

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Washington, DC - At a press conference held today, Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Rep. John Dingell (Mich.), and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (Mich.) announced the introduction of the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). The bipartisan bill, H.R. 2421, restores Federal protection of waters and wetlands by clarifying Congress' original intent in the 1972 landmark Clean Water Act (CWA).

Specifically, CWRA replaces the term "navigable waters of the United States" with "waters of the United States," which reestablishes the commonly-held understanding of the CWA prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Corps of Engineers (SWANCC) in 2001 and Rapanos et ux., et at. v. United States (Rapanos) in 2006.

"Prior to 2001, the scope of the CWA was commonly recognized to include inter- and intra-state waters. By focusing on the phrase 'navigable waters' in its SWANCC and Rapanos decisions, the Supreme Court muddied the jurisdictional understanding of the CWA. As a result, there has been great uncertainty for Federal, state and local governments, agencies, courts, communities and land owners regarding where Federal authority begins and ends under the CWA," said Rep. Oberstar. "By clearly defining the scope of the CWA in this legislation, the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's water bodies and wetlands will be better protected than they have been since the Supreme Court's first anti-wetlands decision in 2001."

The CWRA has 158 original cosponsors, and the endorsement of more than 300 organizations representing the conservation community, family farmers, fishers, surfers, boaters, faith communities, environmental justice advocates, labor unions, and civic associations.

"When ruling on the recent challenge to the Clean Water Act, the Supreme Court continued to bungle the clear intent of Congress. And while five members of the Court rejected the most extreme mangling of the Act proposed by Justice Scalia and others that would eliminate all Clean Water Act protections for more than 50 percent of the nation's wetlands and streams, the fact that there was no clear majority upholding current Clean Water Act authorities as they now exist poses a threat to waters across the country," said Rep. Dingell.

"Now that this foolish decision has been made, the Bush Administration cannot even come up with guidance on what the Court decisions actually mean. That said, given their past history, we know it won't be good. I'm very pleased to join with Congressmen Oberstar and Ehlers to help on this important legislation that will correct the course the Supreme Court set us on and prevent any further mess made of a wonderful law."

Rep. Oberstar, now Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Dingell, who chairs the Committee on Energy and Commerce, were both integral in passage of the original Clean Water Act in 1972.

"Congress is obligated to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act following the regulatory confusion and lawsuits that have arisen out of recent Supreme Court decisions. The Clean Water Restoration Act makes clear the environmental protection that Congress intended and will help to eliminate much of that uncertainty and costly litigation," said Rep. Ehlers. "I thank my colleagues Reps. Oberstar and Dingell for their hard work on this issue, and urge my colleagues in the House to support this important legislation."

The bill's sponsors say that once the CWRA is enacted into law, confusion created by the SWANCC and Rapanos decisions will be eliminated, the understanding of Federal clean water jurisdiction that existed for nearly 30 years will be reestablished, administrative permit processing times will take place more quickly, developers and communities will have regulatory certainty, and the Nation will be better able to restore, protect, and maintain its water-related environment. The CWRA includes a savings clause that clarifies that existing CWA exemptions, including those for agriculture, mining, and silviculture, will remain in place.