In its bill funding the federal government, the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed this afternoon an amendment to block Clean Water Act policies to protect the waters of the United States.

"Clean water is critical to healthy communities
and public welfare."

“Clean water is critical to healthy communities and public welfare,” said Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Joan Mulhern. “Our waters are where our families swim, fish, and where we get our drinking water, and yet, polluters and their friends in Congress are trying to block the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from protecting the nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands from harmful pollution.”

“The Committee members who voted for this amendment are siding with the oil industry, mining companies, developers, and others who would pollute our lakes, rivers, and drinking water sources,” said Ed Hopkins, Sierra Club’s Environmental Quality Program Director. “We hope that the House will recognize that the Corps of Engineers and the EPA need to protect our waters from pollution and destruction.”

Added Mulhern: “We strenuously object to the actions of the House Appropriations Committee members today, who are threatening public health and community safety all across the country for the narrow gain of some bad-actor industrial polluters."