Thomas E. Petri: “Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly must oppose the substitute to H.R. 961 offered by Mr. Saxton and Mr. Boehlert--two Members…”

“Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly must oppose the substitute to H.R. 961 offered by Mr. Saxton and Mr. Boehlert--two Members of Congress who are dedicated and sincere in their efforts and support for clean water programs. Many of the provisions in the substitute are laudable and certainly deserve support. It is what is not in the amendment which is the problem. Unfortunately, many of the provisions of H.R. 961 which I believe make meaningful and significant reforms to the Clean Water Act are not included in this substitute. For example, this substitute does not contain the stormwater program reforms which are found in section 322 of H.R. 961. There is little dispute that the current stormwater permitting program simply does not work and hasn't since the day it was enacted. H.R. 961 corrects this problem by treating stormwater runoff as runoff--and not trying to regulate discharges through cumbersome and confusing permits. Instead, States will have a variety of tools-- including site specific permits if necessary--which can be used to fashion a program that will be more effective and cover more facilities than is possible under the current program. The stormwater provisions in H.R. 961 were developed with the close cooperation and consultation of the States and cities which are, after all, responsible for implementing the program. They support this new approach to stormwater control.”