The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed strongly urges Members of Congress to oppose the Congressional Review Act legislation that would prevent clean water protections from being implemented. This is a short-sighted piece of legislation that will have negative impacts to clean water, wildlife, and human health in our region, which provides 13.3 million people with their drinking water ― more than 4% of the total U.S. population.
Degrading the quality of water that provides $25 billion in annual economic activity and an estimated $21 billion in ecosystem services is bad public policy. Weakening protections under the Clean Water Act by revising the Waters of the US definition could cause hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses over time. The Clean Water Restoration Rule should not be overturned and is essential to protecting and restoring the 13,539 square miles of the Delaware River watershed.
Our nation’s leaders must do more to strengthen the protection of our waterways rather than threaten to roll them back. The Biden Administration’s rulemaking serves as a significant course correction by reinstating longstanding protections for clean water regulations moving forward. This new rule is grounded in science, which underscores that many waters are connected, and thus must be protected to safeguard downstream communities and the environment.
Again, we urge Members of Congress to oppose the Congressional Review Act’s passage and vote “no” on overturning the Clean Water Restoration Rule.