[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 78 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4800-H4801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           CLEAN WATER ACT PROTECTIONS THREATENED BY H.R. 961

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 961 
because I know that rolling back essential protections of the Clean 
Water Act will not contribute to the health and welfare of my 
constituents. In communities such as mine, water quality problems still 
persist. In addition to New York City-wide problems with giardia, a 
bacteria that causes stomach ailments, the families in my district 
[[Page H4801]] have had to depend on aggressive water quality 
standards, challenging the water company in court when health is 
endangered by substandard water quality. This right to appeal is 
predicated on the existence of strong enforcement water quality 
standards. Standards that H.R. 961 would roll back to erase 23 years of 
progress.
  In addition, the Sixth Congressional District of New York borders on 
Jamaica Bay, a fragile area of marshland and islands that is widely 
used for fishing and recreation. Jamaica Bay is regularly contaminated 
by raw sewage and toxins that result from combined sewer overflow 
problems and storm water. And we are not alone, a 1992 study showed 
that 14 large cities, including New York City, Atlanta, and Minneapolis 
have deposited more than 165 billion gallons of raw sewage and 
pollution into surface waters each year. For my constituents, H.R. 961 
seriously impedes any attempt to control this problem by postponing 
action to correct problems with combined sewer systems for at least 15 
years. While we wait, the health concerns about fishing grow. Jamaica 
Bay cannot wait until year 2010 for this problem to be addressed. Can 
the waters in my colleagues district wait? Oppose H.R. 961.

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