This is the official Sierra Club alert on the wetlands rider.
Forwarded by Jane Clark at [log in to unmask]
=======================================================

URGENT:  Action Needed to Stop the Anti-Wetlands Rider in the House

Vote on the House Floor will be TUESDAY!!!

All Sierra Club members are urged to join in stopping the industry-backed
rider
on the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill by making two VERY IMPORTANT
CALLS

1.  Call the White House and tell them you are counting on the President to
veto the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill if the House
fails to
strike the anti-wetlands rider. Call: George Frampton at
Council on Environmental Quality, 202-456-6224 [You can also call the White
House hotline at 202-456-1414, and Chief of Staff Podesta at 202-456-6798.]

2.  Call your Representative and tell them you are counting on them to vote
for
an amendment to strike the anti-wetlands rider. Call the Capitol
switchboard at
202-224-3121, and they will connect you.


What the rider does:
1. Requires the Corps to keep NWP 26 in place and not implement the
replacement
package, just published on Wednesday, until the Corps has conducted a study
and
submitted to Congress showing what the workload and compliance costs of the
new
permits would be.

2.  Requires the Corps of Engineers to develop a one-sided appeals process
for
jurisdictional determinations of wetlands, whether or not they plan to
apply to
impact them, and makes the result a final agency action, so that the
developer can proceed directly to court and sue the Corps if he/she objects
to
the Corps' decision.

Why we're opposed:

" It prevents the government from adopting restrictions to prevent using
Nationwide Permits to fill wetlands in floodplains, restrictions that have
been
promoted by FEMA as a way to prevent putting more people in harm's way and
continuing to add to the commitment of federal dollars to flood disaster
relief.
"  The replacement permits are not ideal, but we and all the organizations
and
industry groups have participated in good faith in the over 2 year process
to
phase-out the damaging and illegal NWP 26.  Industry is now subverting the
finalization because they don't want to abide by limitations such as the
floodplain restriction.
" The rider would waste scarce resources that the Army Corps should be
permitted
to apply to their regulatory responsibilities, making them devote more time
and
energy to unnecessary, one-sided appeals by developers.
" The rider would promote wasteful litigation and place the Corps under
additional pressure from developers to satisfy their concerns for favorable
determinations.
" The rider would shut the public out of this added appeals process.

            *** Your calls can make the difference!!!***

For information, please call Mike Newman in the DC office, 202-547-1141 or
Robin
Mann, 610-527-4598.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]