Russ Feingold: “Today is the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, one of this Nation's landmark environmental laws. Since 1972, the…”

“Today is the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, one of this Nation's landmark environmental laws. Since 1972, the Clean Water Act has provided essential protection for our Nation's waters that enhance and contribute to human health and well-being, the economy, and the environment. Yet as we celebrate the 35-year anniversary of the enactment of the Clean Water Act, Federal protections of surface waters that provide drinking water to an estimated 110 million Americans remain threatened until the U.S. Congress acts. Two recent U.S. Supreme Court cases have jeopardized the protection of these and many other of our Nation's waters by calling into question the Clean Water Act protections for entire categories of waters. In the 2006 consolidated cases of Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Supreme Court left more than half of our Nation's waters without Federal protections. The impact of that decision is compounded by the 2001 case Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers, SWANCC, in which the U.S. Supreme Court limited the authority of Federal agencies to extend Clean Water Act protections to certain wetlands traditionally protected based on their use by migratory birds. The implications of the recent Supreme Court decisions are disturbing for the safety of our drinking water, habitats for wildlife, and fragile ecosystems around the country.”