[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25357]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 835, ESTUARIES 
                      AND CLEAN WATERS ACT OF 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. STEVEN T. KUYKENDALL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 25, 2000

  Mr. KUYKENDALL. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of S. 
835, the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000. This landmark 
legislation will enhance our ability to protect the nation's valuable 
shoreline habitats, extend the cooperative partnership to preserve the 
Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound, and expand the effort to improve 
water quality in our nation's lakes.
  Estuaries are some of the most valuable natural resources of the 
nation, but they are also vulnerable and many are collapsing. This 
important measure promotes the restoration of one million acres of 
estuary habitat throughout the country by directing $275 million in 
funding and other incentives to local estuary protection projects.
  Estuaries are the bays, gulfs, sounds, and inlets where fresh water 
from rivers and streams meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean. 
These areas represent some of the most environmentally and economically 
productive habitats in the world.
  According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 75 percent of fish and 
shellfish caught in the United States by commercial fishing operations 
depend on estuaries for survival. Moreover, these habitats--river 
deltas, sea grass meadows, forest wetlands, shellfish beds, marshes, 
and beaches--support a large number of endangered or threatened species 
of plants and wildlife.
  These areas are fragile and vulnerable to human and environmental 
pressures. Growing populations along the coastlines have threatened the 
natural balance of these habitats. Dredging, draining, the construction 
of dams, sewage spills, and other forms of pollution have led to the 
degradation and destruction of many estuary habitats.
  This measure exemplifies environmental policy based on partnership 
and cooperation, and not on governmental mandates and regulations. S. 
835 encourages states, local governments, and community organizations 
to work together to identify estuary habitat restoration projects.
  Estuaries are national treasures, and they deserve a national effort 
to protect and restore them. Responding to the growing threats to our 
bays, sounds, and other coastal waters presents a difficult challenge: 
federal resources are limited, the need is great, and the pressure on 
these areas is intensifying. The Estuaries and Clean Water Act takes 
the necessary steps to protect and restore these natural habitats.
  The time to act is now. We are not doing enough to protect these 
valuable resources. Many estuaries are on the brink of extinction 
because of manmade pressures. We need to preserve these vitally 
important habitats. They are an integral part of this country's 
environmental balance. I urge my colleagues to support this important 
measure.

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