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Feingold Water Proposal Fatally Flawed

Statement

Date: June 9, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Agriculture and Food Environment

Bill gives unrestricted authority to EPA; removes state role in environmental decisions

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today called for the defeat of Senate bill 787, the so-called "Clean Water Restoration Act" introduced by Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI). Senator Martinez said the bill is too far reaching and intrudes on the rights of states to make decisions on how best to reduce, prevent, and eliminate pollution.

"When Congress approved the original Clean Water Act, it agreed to ‘recognize, preserve, and protect' the rights of states to address the potential impacts of pollutants. This bill seeks to reverse course and insert the federal government into the decision-making process at all levels of government," said Martinez. "This intrusive bill would negatively impact local planning and zoning, farming, economic development, water management, and private property rights."

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to consider S. 787 sometime in the next several weeks.


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