STATEMENT: GOP Rider Would Eliminate the Clean Water Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives has attached a toxic rider to their Energy and Water Appropriations Bill that would repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule. The Obama era safeguard would protect drinking water for more than 117 million Americans and protect millions of acres of wetlands and millions of miles of streams across the country against dangerous pollutants.  

The House passed Energy and Water Appropriation Bill now moves to the Senate floor this week in a ‘minibus’ package that also includes the Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation. While Sierra Club has not taking a position on the other bills in this minibus package, the Energy and Water section is unacceptable as written. The Energy and Water Appropriation Bill, not only attacks drinking water, but also scales back funding for clean energy innovation at a time when we need to be ramping up clean energy deployment and undermines safe nuclear waste disposal.

The Clean Water Rule was crafted by the Environmental Protection Agency during a years-long process that involved more than 400 meetings with stakeholder groups, drew upon more than 1,200 scientific studies, and received more than one million public comments - the majority of which were in support of the rule.

The appropriations process is designed to fund the federal government, and hijacking it to win major policy fights outside of the Administrative process is a clear violation of congressional norms and sets a terrible precedent. If Congress allows these riders to undo the Clean Water Rule, it will endanger our nation’s drinking water, put millions of acres of wetlands and streams at risk, and continue the confusion in what waters are protected by the Clean Water Act.

In response, Dalal Aboulhosn, Deputy Legislative Director for Land and Water, released the following statement:

“Repealing the Clean Water Rule would gut essential clean water protections at a time when we should be improving water quality, not looking for ways to ruin it. Gutting the Clean Water Act  through the budget process would endanger communities across the country, as one in three Americans count on these safeguards for safe drinking water, while only helping corporate polluters profit.

“The American people cannot afford for this and other toxic riders to make their way through Congress. The budget process was designed to fund our government, not advance ideological policy riders on behalf of polluters. Amidst unprecedented attacks from the White House and the EPA on environmental protections, Congress must stand up and protect these safeguards protecting drinking water for millions of Americans.”