  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 18, 2011
Contact: Maggie Kao, 202-675-2384
** View the Report
Card: http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/reportcard/ **
Sierra Club
Marks 40 Years of the Clean Water Act with Clean Water Voting Record
Washington, D.C. – Today the Sierra Club marked the 40th anniversary
of the Clean Water Act by releasing a Clean Water Voting Record for the U.S.
House of Representatives. The online report card features an interactive
map and issues letter grades for U.S. Representatives’ voting records on clean
water issues.
The House has voted to endanger the drinking water
sources of 117 million Americans, allow toxic pesticide discharges into
our waterways without oversight and halt strong protections for
toxic coal ash and destructive mountaintop removal, just to name a few.
“Americans rely on clean water – we need it to drink,
grow our crops and supply our food. Many of us depend on it for the
things we enjoy most – swimming, boating, hunting and fishing,” said Michael
Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “For forty years, the
Clean Water Act has helped protect our water. But in the 112th Congress,
we’ve seen an unprecedented attack from House Leadership on clean water policy.”
The Sierra Club’s Clean Water Report Card highlights
which members of Congress side with Americans who care about clean water and
who sides with big polluters.
“The Clean Water Act is one of America’s great success
stories,” said Brune. “Take for example, the Cuyahoga River
in Ohio, which at one time was one of the most polluted rivers in the
nation. The Cuyahoga was so polluted, that it actually caught on fire
multiple times in the late 1960s. Since the passage of the Clean Water
Act in 1972, the Cuyahoga – once devoid of fish – now supports 44 species and
is recognized as an American Heritage river.”
“Today we should celebrate that success and move forward
to build on that progress to ensure that our children and our children’s
children will have safe, clean water.”
View the Sierra Club’s new Clean Water Report Card Here.
###
Connect with the Sierra Club:
|
|
Sierra Club
