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Streams and Wetlands at Risk

The Bush administration is considering eliminating Clean Water Act protection for small streams and wetlands that appear isolated from rivers or lakes. Already the administration has issued guidance that eliminates federal protection for 20 million acres of wetlands. Without federal protection, these streams and wetlands-- and downstream rivers and lakes-- would be at risk of pollution and flooding.

Full story at Sierraclub.org

What Will Happen If The Clean Water Act No Longer Protects Many Small Wetlands, Streams And Ponds?

For 30 years, the Clean Water Act has provided a safeguard against dumping waste into waters and destroying our wetlands. An overwhelming majority of Americans recognize the value in protecting the water quality of streams and lakes and conserving our remaining wetlands, which provide habitat for wildlife, absorb floodwaters, and filter pollution from water. Before the Clean Water Act passed,some 70% of America’s waters were too polluted for swimming or to support fish and other wildlife. Although we have made progress since then,we still have a long way to go to clean up all the nation’s waters.Today, 39% of rivers, 45% of lakes and 51% of estuaries are unsafe for fishing and swimming.

The Bush Administration Is Threatening The Progress We Have Made
In January, 2003, the Bush administration issued an immediate policy guidance that would remove protections from many of our small streams, ponds and wetlands that appear to be disconnected from major rivers and lakes. The administrationalso solicited public comment on an advance rulemaking proposal to change Clean Water Act rules. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the guidance alone places at risk 20% of the United States’ remaining wetlands, some 20 million acres. Many more small streams and ponds could also be excluded.

What Will Happen If These Waters Are No Longer Protected?

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION INITIATIVE WILL:

* Pollute more waters. EPA’s most recent data show that the nation’s waters are getting dirtier and nearly half of the rivers, streams, lakes and coastal estuaries are not safe for fishing, swimming, or boating.

* Place sources of community drinking water at risk, and increase treatment costs to remove pollutants.

* Threaten public health from contact with bacteria, pathogens, toxics, and other pollutants in waters that would no longer be protected from all types of industrial discharges.

* Deplete drinking water sources (like the Ogallalla aquifer in Texas) that are recharged by playa lakes, and other wetland and stream systems.

* Reduce and potentially destroy endangered or threatened wildlife species � 43% of which (including the whooping crane) rely on wetlands for survival.

* Allow destruction of many seasonal wetlands that serve as nurseries for juvenile frogs, toads, salamanders and other species, and small streams that are essential to sustain healthy populations of fish, amphibians and other aquatic species.

* Increase flooding, when wetlands � nature’s sponges � are no longer available to absorb excess floodwater.

* Endanger the breeding grounds used by more than half the ducks in North America.

Who Stands To Benefit From These Changes?
Developers will be able to fill wetlands and small streams without a Clean Water Act permit. Mining companies, industrial waste dischargers, factory farms and municipal sewage treatment plants will no longer need permits to dump wastes into these unprotected waters.

All The Nation’s Waters Should Be Protected
Few, if any, waters are truly isolated. All small streams and almost all wetlands, even those wetlands that appear to be “isolated,” are connected to other waters. Pollution dumped into wetlands and small streams can pollute groundwater or downstream lakes and rivers. Most states’ laws do not protect these waters. The purpose of the federal Clean Water Act is to provide minimal protections throughout the nation.

In June 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a study of “isolated” wetlands, describing how they play critical roles in storing water, preventing flood damage, trapping pollutants, and providing critical habitat for aquatic life and a myriad of wildlife species.

What You Can Do:Help Make All Our Waters Safe For Fishing, Swimming And Wildlife

* Stay informed about the Bush administration’s threat to clean water. Visit the Sierra Club’s website at www.sierraclub.org/cleanwater Join the Sierra Club’s clean water email list by sending an email to

* Let your voice be heard: Ask your Senators and Congressional Representative to oppose the Bush administration’s efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act.

* Help protect a stream or wetland: Join a citizens water monitoring group to help protect a stream or wetland in your community. To find a group near you, check this website: www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/vol html.

* Let the local news media know how the Bush administration’s efforts to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act would affect your community.

For more information: Contact Ed Hopkins at or 202-675-7908 or Robin Mann at

Posted by emily chang on 09.28.03 at 04:51 PM
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