Energy and Water Appropriations Leadership Threatens Clean Water Act Protections

Environment America

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee voted to move forward with a spending bill that threatens America’s waterways by blocking Clean Water Act protections.

Ally Fields, Environment America’s Clean Water Advocate, issued the following statement:

“House Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Simpson is threatening the drinking water for 117 million Americans. Because it blocks the EPA’s clean water rule, Chairman Simpson’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill should be called the ‘dirty water bill.’

“From the Snake River to the Jersey Shore, Americans deserve clean water to drink, swim in, and fish from, but the House Appropriations Committee ‘dirty water bill’ would let big agribusiness, developers, miners, and other despoilers continue polluting our waterways. In March, the EPA proposed a rule to restore protections to waterways at risk of pollution due to polluter-driven loopholes – already hundreds of thousands have weighed in to support protecting America’s rivers, lakes and streams, including more than 300 small business owners.”