George Miller: “the assault on the basic environmental laws of this country is underway once again on the floor of the House of…”

“the assault on the basic environmental laws of this country is underway once again on the floor of the House of Representatives. Some 2 years ago, it was the ``logging without laws'' rider that legitimized devastating timber practices in utter disregard for the Nation's environmental protection and resource management laws. Now we are presented with H.R. 478--the ``levees without laws'' proposal. This legislation pretends to be responsive to the victims of recent flooding, but its provisions go far beyond flood relief. ``Levees without laws'' pretends to promote protection of families. But it really protects those who would sanction the permanent management of dams and other facilities without regard for the ESA, regardless of any danger of flooding. We are once again being asked to legislate by anecdote: A Member cites a case where a levee failed, although there is plenty of doubt-- and no real evidence--that the ESA had anything to do with that failure. And off we go: waiving the ESA on every flood control facility, anywhere in America, for repairs, reconstruction, maintenance, whatever; not just for this flood season, not just for imminent flood threats, but for any reason, and forever. Let me tell you how far-reaching and damaging H.R. 478 would be, because the impact of passing this bill will not only be on the endangered species. It will be on your water districts. On your constituents who enjoy fishing. On commercial fishing operations.…”