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Updates to the Clean Water Act Would Protect Wetlands

by National Audubon Society - 06/08/07 3:39 PM ET

The Clean Water Act has been credited with cleaning up nearly one-third of our nation’s lakes and rivers since its enactment in 1972. It’s time to return the favor. Today, the Clean Water Act is increasingly under threat from lawsuits and efforts to weaken the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement authority under CWA.

The CWA’s ability to apply to the protection of wetlands, which are so important for birdlife, has gotten especially murky in recent years as the Supreme Court has split on the issue, and long awaited guidance from the EPA released this week did little to clear up the problem.

National Audubon Society and other conservation groups are calling for updates to the Clean Water Act that would clarify that wetlands are worth protecting. HR2421, known at the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2007 (CWARA), would restore the traditional scope of protections intended by Congress. Let’s unmuddy the legal waters so we can better protect the environment. Let’s pass CWARA.