Political Quotes

“over the last several months, this body has been focused on issues pertaining to our economy, such as the ailing jobs market and our debt and deficits. That is as it should be. However, while these important issues have commanded most of our attention here in the United States Senate, that is not to say that other matters and conflicts have suddenly taken a back seat to them. Even as we vigorously debate our economic future, home-state and regional issues continue to command our attention. It is one of those regional issues that brings me to the floor today. Two months ago, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit handed down a final decision that could have far reaching negative impacts on public and private forests, and the communities that rely on them, throughout the United States. In the case of Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Brown, the Court ruled that logging road runoff when managed with a system of ditches and culverts and deposited into rivers and streams qualifies under the Clean Water Act as point source pollution. This means that storm water when mixed with dirt and rocks will now be subject to some of the most stringent environmental protection laws in the United States.…”