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The Clean Water Act is Leaking Like a Sieve

Legislation Is Needed to Plug the Loopholes

For more than 30 years, the federal Clean Water Act has protected our nation's waters and wetlands from unregulated pollution, development and destruction. In 2001, however, the Bush Administration dropped federal protection for many of these waters including more than half of California's wetlands. SB 1477 (Sher) ensures state protections for non-navigable, intrastate waters in order to maintain the drinking water quality, wildlife habitat, pollution and flood control services provided by those waters.

In an effort to remove many waters from federal protection, the Bush administration released new proposed rules that would eliminate protections safeguarding wetlands, streams, ponds, and other waters. A guidance memo was also issued to EPA and Army Corps of Engineers field staff that immediately placed restraints on the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. After massive public outcry, the administration dropped the proposal to exempt protection for these waters, though the EPA guidance memo remains in place. The guidance document, absent regulatory change, amounts to an illegal underground regulation.

The administration's actions have reversed the "no net loss" wetlands policy that has been the foundation for wetland protection in the United States for over a decade. Even with a "no net loss" policy, the nation has lost an average of 60,000 acres of wetlands every year. By reducing the types of waters protected, the Bush administration further demonstrates its propensity to favor corporate polluters and developers at the expense of environmental protection and public health.

Why Are Non-Navigable Waters and Wetlands Critically Important?

• More than half of all Californians receive some or all of their drinking water from groundwater sources fed by non-navigable waters
• Non-navigable waters and wetlands serve as a filter to remove many harmful pollutants from the state's drinking water
• Millions of dollars worth of flood and erosion control is provided by wetlands through their absorption of excess water in winter and spring
• Wetlands provide habitat for millions of native and migratory bird species
• These waters serve as family recreational areas for canoeing, fishing and bird-watching

Protection of clean water ranks high in public importance, with overwhelming support from Californians across party lines. SB 1477 is a sensible solution to protect our valuable wetlands from destruction and over-development. Please urge your state Senator to support SB 1477 to prevent further loss of this crucial piece of our eco-system.

What You Can Do

Please write or call your state Senator urging them to support SB 1477, both in committee and when it reaches the floor.

Your State Senator
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

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