Protect All of Our Waterways: Fix the Clean Water Act

Dear Congressmember [Name],

Since Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, we have made great progress in cleaning up our nation's waters, but that progress is in jeopardy today. Many water bodies that were historically protected by the Act are now being denied protections.

Polluters argue that Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 mean that the law only safeguards "navigable" water bodies, or waters that are significantly linked to such bodies. Ambiguous federal agency policy directives have helped these attacks. The Clean Water Restoration Act will restore the longstanding protections originally intended by Congress and halt the daily destruction and pollution of our nation's waters that is threatening public health and safety. You can contribute to this needed protection by serving as an original cosponsor to the Clean Water Restoration Act.

Only legislation can restore the traditional scope of protection intended by Congress, ensuring the safeguards necessary to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waters. Effective legislation will adopt a statutory definition of "waters of the United States," delete the word "navigable" from the Act, and make findings that establish Congress's constitutional authority over the nation's waters as defined in the Act.

[Your comments here]

The Clean Water Restoration Act, as introduced in the 110th Congress, accomplishes these goals. If adopted in the 111th Congress it would restore clear protections to water bodies that had been covered before the SWANCC and Rapanos rulings. Please help address the persistent destruction and pollution of the nation's waters by serving as an original cosponsor to the Clean Water Restoration Act.