Tell Your Senators to Vote NO on the Barrasso-Heller Dirty Water Amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill! 

This dirty water rider would block the Army Corps and EPA from taking critical regulatory action to restore Clean Water Act protections to streams, wetlands, and other important waters.

Background

Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, guaranteeing that all of the Nation's waters would be covered by a suite of pollution control programs.  In 2001 and 2006, Supreme Court decisions created uncertainty about whether certain kinds of waters are protected by the law, especially ones that are geographically "isolated" from others or ones that lack permanent flow.  

H.R. 3145, the Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2011, renews the Federal commitment to addressing our nation’s substantial needs for wastewater infrastructure by investing $13.8 billion over five years in wastewater infrastructure through the State Revolving Fund and other efforts to improve water quality. 

The FY 2012 Interior and Environmental Appropriations bill would:

If passed, H.R. 2018 would severely limit the federal government's ability to oversee state compliance with the Clean Water Act, give upstream states the power to weaken their pollution protections; and weaken the power of downstream states to protect their water supply, their communities, and their economy. This bill would threaten water quality in our nation's rivers, lakes and streams and limit the ability of both federal and state governments to ensure that all Americans have access to clean water.

Specifically, H.R. 2018 would:

Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to:
(1) repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids near drinking water sources granted to hydraulic fracturing operations under such Act; and
(2) require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.