North Tidewater News

WASHINGTON, DC - Representatives John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), co-chairs of the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force, on May 26 issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which severely weakens the landmark Clean Water Act and exposes wetlands across the country to pollution without penalty.

The Supreme Court’s decision drastically curtails the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect wetlands that do not have a “continuous surface connection” to nearby waterbodies. Revoking vital protections for millions of acres of wetlands jeopardizes access to clean, safe water in communities across the country, especially those that have long experienced environmental injustices. It also has broad implications for these important ecosystems, which serve as sources of biodiversity and flood protection.

“On May 26, the Supreme Court continued its crusade against our bedrock environmental laws, putting polluters over the health of our communities, ecosystems and regional economies,” said the lawmakers. “The Clean Water Act has been critical to our efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and meet the goals of the Bay Agreement. With essential safeguards, wetlands have been a reliable partner in that effort, trapping nutrient and sediment pollution and improving downstream water quality. Narrowing the Clean Water Act puts these critical ecosystems at risk and increases the harmful pollutants that flow directly into the Bay. We will continue working to strengthen clean water protections and overcome these attacks to create a thriving, resilient Bay Watershed.”

Representatives Sarbanes and Scott also voted against the “Polluters Over People” Act (H.R. 1), legislation to weaken enforcement of many bedrock environmental and public health laws.

Original source can be found here.