Jerry Nadler: “the Clean Water Act, since 1972 has been one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever enacted by this Congress.…”

“the Clean Water Act, since 1972 has been one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever enacted by this Congress. Yet many Members of this body are willing to throw away all the advances we have made. During the first 100 days of this Congress, we have heard a lot of talk of Government waste and commonsense reform. Apparently this talk applied only to legislation in the first 100 days. Two years ago, for example, we ordered a study by the National Academy of Sciences of wetlands to define just what a wetland is. The findings of that study were released just yesterday. What use has H.R. 961 made of this information? None. The findings of this multimillion dollar study are not reflected in this bill at all. We all knew the study results were promised for May, but the authors of H.R. 961 could not wait. Apparently whatever is driving this bill, it is not scientific information. The Nation's wetlands, of course, provide a vital source of filtration for our drinking water. But this bill attempts to redefine wetlands. H.R. 961 provides that only 20 percent of the wetlands in the region may be deemed a critical wetland. That leaves 80 percent of the wetlands open for development. Why is only 20 percent of our wetlands going to be protected? This arbitrary standard will deprive 80 percent of our wetlands of any protection and will deprive us of the benefits of that 80 percent. In New York City we have some of the cleanest drinking water in the United States.…”