The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

Illinois PIRG asks you to protect America's waters


Dear Illinois PIRG supporter,

For 30 years, the Clean Water Act has worked to restore our rivers, lakes, streams and other waters to fishable and swimmable conditions. Unfortunately, the nation's waters are still horribly polluted, with over 40% of them failing to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act.

Rather than cleaning up our rivers and lakes, the Bush administration has removed Clean Water Act protections for many waterways. The administration's policy places thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands at greater risk for pollution and destruction.

Instead of eliminating protections, Congress and the Bush administration should reaffirm the Clean Water Act's original intent and safeguard all waters in the United States.

Ask your U.S. Representative to protect America's waters by becoming a cosponsor of the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act.

To take action, click the link below, or simply paste it into your web browser:

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=2&id4=ES

After you email your representative, ask your friends and family to do the same by forwarding this email to them.

Background:

In early 2003, the Bush administration issued a policy directive to remove Clean Water Act protections from a significant number of U.S. waters. This policy puts at risk thousands of miles of headwater and seasonal streams, millions of acres of wetlands and hundreds of lakes and ponds by allowing polluters and developers to contaminate, fill or destroy the waters. Even the Bush administration acknowledges that the policy could remove 20 million acres of wetlands from protection.

The administration's decision prompted vigorous public outcry. More than 100,000 citizens, 218 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and 39 state departments of environmental protection have called on President Bush to defend all of America's waters. Despite the strong support for water protection, the administration has left the policy in place.

Many waters have already lost protection, including an 86 acre lake in Wisconsin, a 150 mile river in New Mexico, headwater streams in Kentucky and wetlands in Florida. Unfortunately these examples are just the beginning of the policy's impact. Across the country, many waters are at risk of being polluted, developed and destroyed.

We need to make sure that all of our waters are safeguarded under the Clean Water Act. Ask your representative to protect America's waters.

To take action, click the link below, or simply paste it into your web browser:

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=2&id4=ES

After you email your representative, ask your friends and family to do the same by forwarding this email to them.

Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Illinois PIRG Environmental Attorney
RebeccaS@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.