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Confluence: March 2003, Vol. 5, No. 2
Legislation & Policy

Clean Water Authority Restoration Act Introduced
A bipartisan coalition of Senators and Representatives have introduced the “Clean Water Authority Restoration Act” in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, calling on Congress to reaffirm that the protection of the Clean Water Act extends to even the smallest streams, natural ponds, wetlands, and other watersheds. This bill has been introduced in response to a Bush administration proposal that would remove up to 20 percent of the waters currently covered by the Clean Water Act from federal regulation. The proposal to reduce the number of protected waters is due to a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision that substantially narrowed the scope of Clean Water Act regulation. According to Rebecca Wodder, president of the nonprofit watershed group American Rivers, “This bill reaffirms Congress’ intent to protect all the waters of the United States and put the public interests first.” For more on this subject, see the January, 2003 issue of Confluence, and visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/swanccnav.html for the EPA’s official stance on the proposed revisions and the text of the applicable court decision.

New Water Quality Trading Policy from the U.S. EPA
In January 2003, the U.S. EPA implemented a new Water Quality Trading Policy to govern industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste discharge into waterways. The main feature of the policy is to allow a polluter to meet its regulatory obligations to reduce discharge by purchasing “pollution credits” from another source that can reduce its pollutants further at lower cost. The overall amount of pollution allowed remains constant, but at a decreased overall cost. The impact this will have on specific regions remains to be determined, but the EPA is optimistic that it will increase the success of cleaning deteriorated watersheds nationwide. For more information, link to http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/trading/trading.htm

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