Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Clean Water Closer To Restoration
As readers will be aware from my prior posts (both of which can be found here), a bill entitled the "Clean Water Restoration Act" is wending its way through Congress. Well, as discussed in this New York Times editorial, the bill may start wending a little faster. The Obama administration has written to the House and Senate committees considering the bill urging that they approve the legislation. Some of the urgency may derive from efforts to polish the United States' environmental credentials in advance of the December climate change talks in Copenhagen.
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On March 1st the New York Times published a compelling article describing how the SWANCC and Rapanos Supreme Court decisions are hampering the ability of federal regulators to protect our nation's waters from pollution. Since 2001, Clean Water Act violations have risen while EPA enforcement has declined. According to this article, EPA regulators estimate that 1,500 major pollution cases have been halted in the last four years alone. Even more alarming, internal studies conducted by midlevel EPA officials indicate that as many as 45% of major polluters are now beyond regulatory reach.
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