[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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