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60+ Groups Sign Letter Opposing Goodlatte-Holden Bill Stopping Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
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More than sixty organizations of the Choose Clean Water Coalition sent letters to their U.S. Representatives opposing H.R. 4153, Congressmen Goodlatte (R-VA) and Holden's (D-PA) Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act, which would undo the years-long process developed by the States and the Federal government to restore clean water to the region.
The groups include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Lancaster Farmland Trust, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Pennsylvania Council of Churches, PennFuture, Potomac Riverkeeper and Sierra Club-Pennsylvania.
The Coalition's letter explains that if states are left to voluntarily implement their own water quality rules, there will be no enforcement whatsoever. This approach is unworkable in addressing pollution problems that are interstate in nature such as those afflicting the Chesapeake Bay.
"Our members work hard so that our rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay will be cleaner and H.R. 4153 would derail clean-up efforts by eliminating requirements for polluters to be responsible for their impacts," says Hilary Falk, Director of the Choose Clean Water Coalition. "The bill proposes to shift the financial burden to local communities throughout the region and undercut the federal government's role in making sure that all Americans have access to clean water and swimmable, fishable rivers and streams.
"H.R. 4153 will not help responsible farmers but it does allow bad actors to continue to pollute and to avoid taking responsibility for our shared waters," says Pamela E. Goddard, National Parks Conservation Association's Chesapeake and Virginia Program Manager. "The bill guts the Clean Water Act by stripping the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s authority to oversee and enforce the Chesapeake TMDL or "pollution diet" which holds the most promise for clean and healthy waters in the Chesapeake region."
The letter also points out that H.R. 4153 adds new layers of bureaucracy by requiring EPA to add a large and cumbersome 16-member Advisory Committee and a Trading Commission. EPA would be required to hire staff for these entities. In addition, the bill would require state and federal agencies to prepare 100 reports – 16 reports by federal agencies and the newly created advisory committee and commission and at least 84 reports by the six states and the District of Columbia – over the six year authorization timeframe of the bill.
A copy of the letter is available online.
The Choose Clean Water Coalition brings together more than 230 organizations from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, New York and the District of Columbia, and their members to improve local rivers and streams which will result in restored Chesapeake Bay.
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4/2/2012 |
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