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The federal bill to restore Clean Water Act protections for
isolated wetlands and headwater streams (Clean Water Restoration Act) has
stalled in Congress and needs your help! More details are provided below
about how you can help bring this important bill to a vote in both the Senate
and House.
Also read on for details about Conservation Lobby Day -- a
unique opportunity for you to encourage Wisconsin legislators to cast votes
in support of several critical conservation priorities.
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Help Restore Federal Protections for Isolated Wetlands!
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 Efforts to restore
federal Clean Water Act (CWA) protections for isolated wetlands and
headwater streams continue. Though the bill passed the Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee in June 2009, it has not been scheduled for a
floor vote and has yet to be introduced in the House. Opposition is
strong and well organized so more voices are needed to urge action on
this important bill.
CWRA supporters are now turning their attention to the Obama
administration to urge the President to exert leadership and work with
Congress to reaffirm the Clean Water Act protections.
Here's how you can help:
- If you
haven't already done so, sign the We
Are Wetlands petition asking President Obama to restore Clean
Water Act protections to isolated wetlands & headwater streams.
The petition will be delivered as soon as there are 80,000
signatures, hopefully sometime in the next couple of months.
- Urge
President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise of helping to
restore protections to our nation's waters and wetlands. The Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is the President's principal advisor
on environmental policy. All communications asking the President to
quickly build Congressional support for the strongest possible bill
should be sent to the CEQ Chair, Nancy Sutley, at chair@ceq.eop.gov.
- Contact
your representatives and ask them to support and help bring a bill
to a vote in the House. (Click
here to find your representatives' contact information). Both of
Wisconsin's senators are already supporters of the CWRA. Senator
Feingold introduced the CWRA in the Senate and continues to work to
restore these protections for isolated wetlands and headwater
streams. Senator Kohl is also a sponsor of the bill.
Photo: Drew Feldkirchner
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Register to attend Conservation Lobby Day
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 On Tuesday, January 26,
hundreds of conservation-minded citizens will gather at Conservation
Lobby Day, an organized event to encourage legislators to cast votes
in support of several critical conservation priorities.
On Conservation Lobby Day, concerned citizens from
across the state attend pre-scheduled meetings with their legislators to
encourage their support on issues of statewide conservation concern (see
below for more on this year's priorities). This organized approach to
conservation advocacy really works! In the last few years, Conservation
Lobby Day participants have helped to secure positive action on a
number of important issues, including reauthorization of the Stewardship
Fund and passage of the Great Lakes Compact.
2010 Conservation Lobby Day participants will gather
to ask their legislators to:
Wisconsin Wetlands Association is actively involved in two
of these issues. We have been working to ensure that the new groundwater
management bill will protect wetlands from drawdowns associated with
groundwater pumping. We have also been active in efforts to reestablish an
independent DNR secretary that is appointed by the state Natural
Resources Board.
Conservation Lobby Day is free but
participants must RSVP by January 19th. Click
here to reserve your space! The event is being held at the Monona
Terrace in Madison.
Click here for
more information about Conservation Lobby Day and the 2010 conservation
priority issues.
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What
is the Clean Water Restoration Act?
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Historically, the Clean
Water Act regulated construction in, and discharges of pollutants to, all
wetlands and waterways in the nation. Since 2001 that authority has been
repeatedly narrowed by U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have removed
federal Clean Water Act protection from more than 1 million acres of
Wisconsin's wetlands, nearly 50% of Wisconsin's streams, and numerous
lakes.
The Clean Water
Restoration Act (CWRA) reinstates these protections by reiterating what
Congress intended when it passed the Clean Water Act over 30 years ago:
that all waters of the United States should be protected from pollution
and destruction.
Opponents to the bill
include the American Farm Bureau Federation and well-funded,
well-organized interest groups representing home builders, the mining and
oil industries, major manufacturers, and others. They claim the bill will
cause hardship to farmers and will regulate every drop of water on the
landscape, from mud puddles to snow melt.
In truth, the CWRA simply
restores the protections that were in place prior to 2001 and does not
expand federal jurisdiction. Also, the bill clearly preserves long
standing exemptions for ongoing agriculture, silviculture, and ranching
activities.
See the other sections of
this alert for details on how you can help move this important bill
through Congress.
You can also find
additional background information on the CWRA and efforts to pass it by
reading:
WWA's
CWRA Wetland Alert of April 09, 2008
Sierra
Club's CWRA web page
National
Wildlife Federation's CWRA web page
Photo: Drew Feldkirchner
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