Clean Water Act
The Environmental Protection Agency is on the verge of allowing states to dump water filled with bacteria, toxic chemicals and invasive species into clean water without having to show the federal government that it won't hurt the environment or people.
The EPA believes it is up to each state to oversee transfers from one body of water to another. The agency argues that the Clean Water Act does not require states or local water agencies to obtain a federal permit to move water to irrigate fields, generate power, control floods or provide drinking water.
But the proposal has alarmed environmentalists and the attorneys general of more than a dozen states, including Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
September 5, 2006 6:51 AM | Category: Cleanup