The Clean Water Act has made advances to our society that have helped our environment to flourish with life. The objective of the Act when it was enacted in 1972 was to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's water. This objective was accompanied by other statutory goals to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into waters used by boats by 1985 and to attain waters deemed "fishable or swimmable" by 1983. So far, the Act has done exactly what it was meant to do. Its purpose is being served and we our benefiting with clean water.
No where in the context of the Clean Water Act does it say anything about respecting the convenience of businesses wishing to dump their toxins into our waters. The Act was not meant to please everyone, but it was meant to clean our water, and that should please a wide majority. We should not have to sacrifice our health for a business that does nothing for us. Clean water is much more of a priority to us citizens than is the well being of a company that we probably have never heard of and never will.
If the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1995 are passed, all that we have worked for since 1972 will be lost. It will take all of the advances made to clean our water and totally reverse them. This bill will take apart the National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, leaving loopholes for businesses desiring to pollute our waters. This bill also demonstrates a flagrant disregard for the state of scientific and technological knowledge in the area of water quality. It will corrupt our water in such a way as to totally abolish the Clean
Water Act, rendering it obsolete.
The intent of the of the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1995 is to increase flexibility on businesses, States, local governments, and landowners.
This increase in flexibility is meant to relax some regulations dealing with the discharge of wastes and stormwater into waterways, authority of