Ed Markey: “Boston's sports teams have had their share of great moments. After a win, you can hear the crowd celebrating by singing…”

“Boston's sports teams have had their share of great moments. After a win, you can hear the crowd celebrating by singing a song by the Standells that goes like this: Yeah, down by the river, Down by the banks of the river Charles. Well I love that dirty water, Oh, Boston, you're my home. While dirty water signals a win for a Boston team when that is sung, the real victory has been beating the pollution in the Charles River and Boston Harbor since the passage of the Clean Water Act. That victory is thanks to the implementation of that law, which protects sources of our drinking water from pollution and restores dirty waters back to health. We need to keep the Clean Water Act's winning streak alive. Unfortunately, the bill the Senate may consider today could end the record of wins for the Clean Water Act. Its history of success has made the Clean Water Act one of the greatest American success stories. Before the Clean Water Act, there was no Federal authority to limit dumping, set national water quality standards, or enforce pollution rules. City and household waste flowed untreated into rivers and harmful chemicals were poured into wetlands and streams from factories and powerplants. Back then, we were all on the honor system. Water supplies were managed by a patchwork of State laws and an appeal to the common good. The result: mass pollution on a historic scale, oozing rivers so toxic that they could ignite into flames, fish dead by the thousands.…”