July 26 — Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., introduced a measure in the Senate Jan. 25 aimed at ensuring the Clean Water Act applies to all of the nation´s rivers, streams and wetlands despite recent Supreme Court rulings that have limited the scope of the act.
The bill, which earned the praise of environmental groups, is similar to a measure recently introduced in the House by Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn.
Nineteen other senators are co-sponsoring the Feingold legislation. It reaffirms Congress´ intent when it passed the Clean Water Act that it should apply to all bodies of water, Feingold said.
“The law Congress passed 35 years ago to protect our waters from pollution has been undermined by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Feingold said. “Now is not the time for Congress to stand by idly as the protections of the Clean Water Act are rolled back.”
Environmental advocacy groups applauded Feingold´s bill.
Both the House and Senate bills are a result of two recent Supreme Court rulings — the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. the Corps of Engineers and Rapanos v. the United States – which narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act as it applies to smaller bodies of water and wetlands. It limits the act to apply to “navigable waters.”