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Help Defend the Clean Water Act
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new and unnecessary loophole in the Clean Water Act. The proposed rule would effectively eliminate any restrictions or permits regulating water transfers from polluted lakes to drinking water sources. This rule could result in health risks not only to our nation's waters but to public health and safety.
The Clean Water Act was designed to keep the waters of our nation clean and empowered the EPA to enforce its provisions. Exempting the EPA or other agencies from the very law they are charged with enforcing is a troubling precedent. Presently, the law requires permits to ensure that water transfers do not create problems. This protection must not be erased.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
The EPA is currently soliciting public comment on this proposed rule change. Use our convenient email function to tell them this rule could pose a serious threat to public health, water quality and the integrity of the Clean Water Act itself. |
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0141
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
As a constituent and taxpayer concerned with our nation's waters, I would like to voice my opposition to the EPA's proposed Water Transfers rule. EPA should not adopt this rule or any rule that allows the spread of pollutants from one water body to the next without any regulatory oversight or permit.
This rule, if implemented, would effectively allow all transfers of water from one water body to another regardless of the quality of the water being transferred. There have been cases of water transfers spreading biological hazards, such as industrial waste, sewage, invasive species, and agricultural waste, to previously uncontaminated waters.
Lake Okeechobee in Florida is an example of the effects of this proposed rule. The South Florida Water Management District operates large pumps that periodically discharge polluted water into Lake Okeechobee, a source of drinking water. The nutrient-laden plume of water has triggered blooms of harmful algae. Under some conditions, this algae can become toxic and cause skin infections and, if ingested, human and livestock fatalities. Carcinogen levels in drinking water derived from the lake often are several times greater than the legal standard, and pregnant women were recently warned not to bathe in tap water in the lake town of Pahokee.
The Clean Water Act was designed to keep the waters of our nation clean and empowered the EPA to enforce its provisions. This proposed Water Transfers rule runs contrary to the goals of the Clean Water Act and should be withdrawn.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
August 02, 2006
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