Political Quotes

“This is a straightforward amendment to ensure that the EPA is laser-focused on helping address the biggest source of water pollution in the United States: stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is what happens when rain falls--we get a lot of that in Washington State--and it flows across roofs, parking lots, and streets. As that rainwater heads on its way to rivers, lakes, and bays, it picks up all sorts of toxic, nasty stuff like metals, oils, fertilizers, and pesticides, just to name a few. Toxic stormwater has a direct effect on the health of our waterways and, more importantly, on our economy. Nowhere is that more clear, frankly, than in my home State of Washington and in the Puget Sound, which is, by water volume, the largest estuary in America. We actually have video of polluted stormwater literally killing salmon in a matter of hours--not days or weeks, but hours--and our endangered southern resident orcas, which we are on the verge of losing altogether, are harmed both by having fewer salmon to lunch on and by absorbing the pollutants directly into their body. We have made a lot of progress in this country in dealing with point- source pollution, but stormwater runoff is a lot tougher to deal with now. It is a lot more decentralized, and there are a lot of jurisdictions involved. It is going to require a lot of improvement in water infrastructure over time. State and local governments are kind of stepping up to be sure to meet this challenge.…”