[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5560-S5561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 46--COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
 THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1972, COMMONLY 
                    KNOWN AS THE ``CLEAN WATER ACT''

  Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
King, and Mr. Peters) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works:

                            S. Con. Res. 46

       Whereas the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments 
     of 1972 (Public Law 92-500; 86 Stat. 816), including the 
     amendments made by that Act (collectively commonly known and 
     referred to in this preamble as the ``Clean Water Act''), is 
     one of the most important environmental laws in the United 
     States and the Nation's principal safeguard against 
     pollution, degradation, and destruction of surface waters, 
     including streams, rivers, wetlands, and lakes;
       Whereas the Clean Water Act has made progress towards the 
     objective of the legislation to ``restore and maintain the 
     chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's 
     waters'' by--
       (1) significantly reducing water pollution;
       (2) substantially improving the quality of tens of 
     thousands of waterbodies; and
       (3) dramatically reducing the rate of wetlands loss;
       Whereas, despite the improvements brought about by the 
     Clean Water Act, failure to fully achieve the intended goals 
     of the Clean Water Act are due to--
       (1) changes to interpretation of the Clean Water Act, which 
     has weakened protections for our waters;
       (2) lack of adequate and equitable investments in clean 
     water infrastructure and funding to implement and enforce the 
     Clean Water Act; and
       (3) weak and inequitable enforcement and implementation of 
     critical provisions of the Clean Water Act; and
       Whereas, as the United States embarks on the next 50 years 
     of the Clean Water Act, Congress envisions a law that--
       (1) expands access to clean water for every community by--
          (A) protecting waters with cultural, historical, 
     spiritual, and religious significance;
          (B) ensuring that rivers, streams, and other waterbodies 
     are fishable and swimmable and serve as safe and reliable 
     sources of recreation, drinking water, and subsistence;
          (C) restoring and safeguarding waterways and wetlands 
     that provide vital fish and wildlife habitat and protect 
     communities from floods and droughts; and
          (D) making healthy shorelines, waterfronts, and water-
     related recreation available and welcoming to all;
       (2) prioritizes affordable clean water investments in 
     Black, Indigenous, People of Color, low-wealth, and other 
     communities that have been most harmed by pollution;
       (3) incentivizes natural infrastructure and nature-based 
     solutions;
       (4) builds climate resiliency and mitigation of climate 
     impacts into our water infrastructure;
       (5) supports robust, transparent, and meaningful community 
     engagement and community-led solutions and decisionmaking, 
     including meaningfully incorporating the perspectives and 
     solutions of Tribal communities;
       (6) ensures affordable clean water services for all;
       (7) protects and restores ecosystems by--
          (A) eliminating harmful algal blooms, algal toxins in 
     drinking water supplies, and ``dead zones'' by reducing 
     inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus from the most significant 
     sources;
          (B) preventing destruction and degradation of remaining 
     wetlands and restoring and protecting wetlands across the 
     country;
          (C) restoring all waters, especially the most polluted 
     waterways and waterways in the communities most impacted by 
     pollution;
          (D) incorporating climate change science and modeling 
     and indigenous knowledge into planning and restoration 
     efforts;
          (E) improving water quality, healthy river flows, and 
     groundwater recharge;
          (F) removing outdated infrastructure that is adversely 
     impacting the health of waters; and
          (G) supporting significant protected areas and free-
     flowing riverine systems, including components of the 
     National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, units of the National 
     Park System, National Forests, units of the Wildlife Refuge 
     System, and components of the National Wilderness 
     Preservation System;
       (8) promotes an inclusive, transparent, and equitable 
     approach to policy development, based on best available 
     science, by--
          (A) proactively protecting human health and the 
     environment from discharges of harmful pollutants, including 
     new, emerging, and toxic contaminants;
          (B) basing decisions on the most credible climate 
     projections;
          (C) accepting community-sourced and peer-reviewed 
     science as a source of data for decisionmaking related to the 
     Clean Water Act;
          (D) ensuring that all decisions comply with the full 
     suite of applicable laws;
          (E) ensuring that States are consistent and timely in 
     implementation of the Clean Water Act; and
          (F) increasing the reach and accuracy of water quality 
     monitoring and assessment by providing funding to States, 
     agencies, and other organizations conducting such activities; 
     and
       (9) holds polluters accountable by including stronger 
     enforcement measures, including--
          (A) prioritizing prosecutions of violations of the Clean 
     Water Act that have affected Black, Indigenous, People of 
     Color, low-wealth, and other communities that have been most 
     harmed by pollution;
          (B) ensuring that Federal and State agencies carefully, 
     clearly, and equitably apply the requirements of the Clean 
     Water Act;
          (C) providing the resources needed to ensure that 
     Federal and State agencies have the capacity to effectively 
     implement and enforce the Clean Water Act; and
          (D) protecting our cleanest and most outstanding waters 
     through classification of Outstanding National Resources 
     Waters: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the enactment of 
     the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 
     (Public Law 92-500; 86 Stat. 816), including the amendments 
     made by that Act (collectively commonly known and referred to 
     in this resolution as the ``Clean Water Act'');
       (2) recognizes the historic achievements in improving water 
     quality that have been made during the 50 years of 
     implementation of the Clean Water Act; and
       (3) recognizes and seeks to address the shortcomings of the 
     Clean Water Act in restoring and maintaining the chemical, 
     physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters, 
     including by--
       (A) expanding access to clean water for every community;
       (B) recognizing that a robust Clean Water Act is critical 
     for the protection of human and environmental health, for the 
     promotion of healthy and robust economies, and for 
     maintaining a healthy quality of life;
       (C) increasing clean water infrastructure investments in 
     communities throughout the Nation and targeting increased and 
     affordable investments in communities most at risk of 
     continued pollution;
       (D) addressing climate resiliency and mitigation of climate 
     impacts on clean water infrastructure;
       (E) promoting an inclusive, transparent, and equitable 
     approach to Clean Water Act policy development, based on the 
     best available science;
       (F) holding polluters accountable; and
       (G) ensuring the protection and restoration of rivers, 
     streams, lakes, wetlands, and natural ecosystems.

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce, along 
with the Senator from Maryland, Mr. Cardin; the Senator from 
Connecticut, Mr. Blumenthal; the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. 
Markey; the Senator from Oregon, Mr. Merkley; the Senator from 
California, Mr. Padilla; and the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. 
Whitehouse, a resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 
Clean Water Act.
  The Clean Water Act, which was signed into law on October 18, 1972, 
is one of the most important environmental laws in the United States 
and our Nation's principal safeguard against pollution and the 
degredation of our Nation's water bodies. Five decades of Clean Water 
Act implementation has improved our Nation's waterways, wetlands, and 
water infrastructure, all while protecting public health and aquatic 
ecosystems. This resolution recognizes the historic achievements in 
improving water quality that have been made over the past 50 years.
  Perhaps the most memorable example of improved water quality is 
Ohio's Cuyahoga River. In 1969, the river was so polluted that it 
actually caught fire. It is a memory I will never forget. Now, because 
of the Clean Water Act, the Cuyahoga River has been cleaned up and is 
home to over 60 species of fish.
  Americans now have a law that seeks to protect them from industrial 
pollution in our rivers and streams or the

[[Page S5561]]

indiscriminate destruction of our wetlands. Despite this progress, 
there have been various challenges and changes to the implementation of 
the law. Currently, there is a case before the Supreme Court, which 
seeks to once again allow polluters to dump their waste into upstream 
waters without consequence. I can think of no better way to commemorate 
one of our greatest environmental achievements than to fight back 
against this assault on clean water.
  While we have come a long way since enacting the Clean Water Act 50 
years ago, we must do more--not less--to deliver on the promise of 
clean water in our country.

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