EARTHJUSTICE * NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL * SIERRA CLUB

For Release: August 12, 2004   Contact:
    Joan Mulhern, Earthjustice, 202-667-4500
      Julie Sibbing, NWF, 202-797-6832
      Daniel Rosenberg, NRDC, 202-289-2389, or
      Elliott Negin, 202-289-2405
      David Willett, Sierra Club, 202-675-6698

Bush Administration Policy Makes America's Waters
Vulnerable to Development, Pollution

Washington DC-Federal documents obtained by four environmental groups reveal
that a Bush administration policy directive has eliminated federal Clean
Water Act protections for streams, wetlands, lakes and rivers across the
nation. In a report released today, the groups provide 15 case studies
demonstrating how the administration's January 2003 policy directive has
prompted federal regulators to avoid protecting ponds, lakes, rivers, and
entire watersheds from toxic pollution. The report is available at
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/documents/8-04/CWA_Jurisdiction_8-12-04.pdf
.

The report, Reckless Abandon: How the Bush Administration is Exposing
America's Waters to Harm, was produced by Earthjustice, National Wildlife
Federation, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and Sierra Club.

"The Bush administration is sweeping away 30 years of protection for some of
our nation's most important waters," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative
counsel for Earthjustice. "Polluters have been given a green light to ignore
the Clean Water Act, even when it may affect drinking water supplies."

On January 15, 2003, the Bush administration announced a new policy that
directed federal regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to withhold protection from tens of
millions of acres of wetlands, streams, and other waters, unless they first
get permission from their national headquarters in Washington, DC. The
directive made clear that no prior permission is required for EPA or Corps
field staff to ignore Clean Water Act protections and allow industrial
facilities, developers, and others to pollute, fill, or destroy these
waters. In addition, the policy categorically excludes from protection
several types of waters found across the country that provide critical
habitat for an array of migratory birds, amphibians, and other wildlife.

Today's report is largely based on information obtained through Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted to Corps headquarters and
individual Corps districts. The case studies in the report indicate that
Corps districts around the country are failing to assert jurisdiction over
waters ranging from an 86-acre lake to a 150-mile-long river, to a 4000-acre
tract of wetlands and a 70-mile-long canal-leaving these waters any many
others across the nation vulnerable to pollution and destruction.

"The Bush administration's policy is based on the fantasy that if you let
polluters dump sewage, oil and other toxic waste into small wetlands and
streams, it won't ultimately wind up in our lakes, rivers and coastal
waters," said Daniel Rosenberg, an NRDC senior attorney. "Americans know
better, and that's why they support strong Clean Water Act protection for
our nation's waterways."

The threat posed by this policy comes at a time when water pollution
continues to be one of the nation's most serious environmental problems -
and a central environmental concern for most Americans.

"It is ironic that while the President is touting his goal of a net gain of
wetlands, his administration's policy is exposing millions of acres of
wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams to destruction," said Julie Sibbing, a
senior legislative representative at the National Wildlife Federation. "An
estimated 20 percent of America's wetlands might be open to pollution and
development."

The EPA has estimated that some 20 million acres of wetlands in the
continental United States may lose federal protection under the Bush
administration's policy. In addition, tens of thousands of miles of seasonal
and headwater streams and countless numbers of small lakes, and ponds could
be left without federal protection from water pollution.

"The Bush administration is pursuing a short-sighted policy aimed at
satisfying oil industry and other polluter interests bent on dismantling our
fundamental clean water safeguards," said Robin Mann, chair of Sierra Club's
Clean Water Campaign. "By exposing the types of waters that the Bush
administration is sacrificing under this policy-and these are just the tip
of the iceberg-we are taking our case to the public and calling on the
administration to reverse this harmful policy and restore the longstanding
protections to the nation's waters."

A recent lawsuit by the oil industry cites the Bush administration's January
2003 policy to argue that the Clean Water Act's oil spill prevention program
should not apply to many streams, wetlands, and other waters.

###

Earthjustice is the nation's largest nonprofit law firm for the environment,
working through the courts to safeguard public lands, national forests,
parks, and wilderness areas; to reduce air and water pollution; to prevent
toxic contamination; and to preserve endangered species and wildlife
habitat. http://www.earthjustice.org

Protecting wildlife through education and action since 1936, the National
Wildlife Federation is America's foremost conservation organization creating
solutions that balance the needs of people and wildlife now and for future
generations. http://www/nwf.org

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, non-profit organization
of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting
public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 1
million e-activists and members, served from offices in New York,
Washington, Santa Monica and San Francisco. More information is available at
NRDC's Web site, http://www.nrdc.org/.

The Sierra Club's members are 700,000 of your friends and neighbors.
Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the
planet. The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential
grassroots environmental organization. http://www.sierraclub.org

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