Edwards Statement In Support Of Final Clean Water Rule

Statement

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards (MD-4) today issued the following statement regarding her support of the Obama Administration's issuance of the final Clean Water rule that will protect the nation's interconnected water resources, including the Chesapeake Bay.

"Today's rule assures safe drinking water for American families, clean water for our businesses, and is the biggest step in protecting our waters nationwide in more than a decade," Edwards said. "This will have a positive effect on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, which is fed by 110,000 miles of creeks, rivers, and streams and where 70 percent of Marylanders receive drinking water. It is clear that both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers listened to all the comments and criticism they received during the 208-day comment period and in 400 public meetings. This rule will give all stakeholders the clarity and certainty they have been seeking since 2001."

Maryland is within the six-State Chesapeake Bay Watershed and several of its tributaries, including the Anacostia, the Patuxent, Potomac, and Severn Rivers flow through the Fourth Congressional District. Nationwide, 117 million people, or more than a third of the total population, receive and depend on these clean waters.

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