PPRC Position Paper on Clean Water Restoration Act
The Clean Water Act is one of our nation’s most successful and wide-ranging environmental laws. It regulates pollution at its source and involves a comprehensive Federal and State regulatory system for issuance of permits and water quality standards. Changing it would radically impact the original intent of the Clean Water Act and would be detrimental to our way of life.
The PPRC supports the Clean Water Act.
The PPRC does not support (HR2421 & S1870) the Clean Water Restoration Act.
- Expanding the Federal Clean Water Act, would unfairly regulate all United States citizens. Jurisdiction would include State and Federal lands as well as an individual's private property.
- Processes in place to meet current Clean Water Act standards would be eliminated due to the Clean Water Restoration Act. (HR2421 and S1870) i.e. Municipal/industrial treatment facilities
- The Clean Water Restoration Act would give the Federal Government control over all "intrastate waters" and all "activities affecting these waters".
- The "Savings Clause" fails to guarantee current exemptions in the Clean Water Act or allow for any future exemptions.
- Over the last several decades, the Clean Water Act has been responsible for extraordinary advances in improving the health of the nation's surface waters and watersheds.
The title sounds harmless, but if HR2421 & S1870 pass and its supporters
have their way, federal bureaucrats will have the authority to visit farms,
ranches, and even suburban lawns to gauge how your normal activities are
affecting every drop of water that falls on your land.
The PPRC is a grassroots organization representing the interests of the nation's pulp, paper,
solid wood products, and other natural resource-based workers. The U.S. forest products industry
is vitally important to our nation's economy, employing 1.5 million people. We rank among the top
10 manufactures in 46 states with annual sales exceeding $230 billion, which accounts for 7% of the
U.S. manufacturing shipments. We are people dedicated to conserving the environment while taking into
account the economic stability of the workforce and surrounding community.
Position Paper Page
Rev. 02-02-08
