Clean Water Authority Restoration Act - Sample Letter to Members of Congress

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(click here to be transferred directly to Representative Renzi's Contact Form.)

Dear Representative Renzi,

I am writing to encourage you to commit to ensuring that our waterways provide clean drinking water and are safe for swimming, fishing and boating. I urge you to sign up to be an original co-sponsor of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2007, HR 2421. This legislation is needed to protect the nation's waters from pollution.

The bill would reaffirm the historical jurisdiction of the 1972 Clean Water Act and ensure all "waters of the United States" that have been covered by federal safeguards against pollution for more than 34 years retain Clean Water Act protection. This bill does not create "new" protective authority, but simply restores the regulatory status quo. The bill is needed because decisions by the Supreme Court over the past few years (Rapanos/Carabell 2006; SWANCC 2001) and administrative actions by the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers have muddied the waters regarding the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, making this bill critically important now.

Waters most at risk of losing federal protections because of these actions include small and seasonal streams and rivers, and nearby wetlands. According to the U.S. EPA, 59 percent of the nation's streams and rivers, measured in miles, fall into this category of waters. Source water protection areas containing these small or intermittent streams and rivers provide water to public drinking water supplies serving more than 110 million Americans. Wetlands also provide important functions in our watersheds, from reducing flooding to offering habitat to ducks and other wildlife.

Great strides have been made in the 34-year history of the Clean Water Act in cleaning up and restoring our nation's lakes, rivers and streams, but there is much work still to do. Today, over forty-five percent of the rivers and lakes in the United States are still too polluted to be safe for fishing, swimming, drinking water supply, wildlife habitat, and other uses. In Arizona, it's particularly important to protect our clean, clear water for both drinking and for recreation, an important component of our state's economy.

The Clean Water Authority Restoration Act will return us, in Arizona and throughout the country, to the path toward further progress in cleaning up the nation's waters and making them safe and clean.

Please become an original cosponsor of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act. Thank you for supporting clean water.

Sincerely yours,

Your Name Address Phone