From:
Ananda D. Hirsch
Sierra Club Conservation Organizer
Environmental Quality Program

Good morning water activists,

Yesterday, President Bush chose to talk about wetlands protection during
his Earth Day speech.  The Associated Press (AP) issued this story on the
subject:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33116-2004Apr22.html


Then, in response to the President's claims regarding wetlands the Sierra
Club issued this press release:

For Immediate Release:
April 22, 2004

Contact:
Wendy Balazik, 202-675-2383

Sierra Club's Ed Hopkins reaction to President Bush's Earth Day
announcement of a new wetlands policy:

"An Earth Day photo-op can't hide the damage the Bush administration's
policies are doing to America's wetlands.  In January 2003, the Bush
administration ordered the EPA and the Army Corps of engineers to
immediately stop enforcing the Clean Water Act for as many as 20 million
acres of wetlands.  Now the Bush administration says it wants to restore
three million acres -- clearly that's a contradiction.   While we still
need to see the details, it seems clear that we'd be better off if the Bush
administration simply enforced the law that's on the books."

Wendy Balazik
Media Coordinator
Sierra Club
Phone:  202-675-2383
Fax:  202-547-6009


The Associated Press reporter then wrote a new story on the subject,
quoting Ed Hopkins

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35401-2004Apr23.html

If you hear more about the President's statement regarding wetlands
protection, these talking points might prove helpful:

 If President Bush really wants to protect America's wetlands, his first
 step should be to revoke his administration's policies that damage
 wetlands.

 He should rescind the January 2003 policy directive that prevents
 protection of so-called "isolated" waters unless EPA and Army Corps of
 Engineers staff first obtain permission from Washington.  When they issued
 this policy directive, the EPA estimated that it put 20 million acres of
 wetlands at risk, one-fifth of America's wetlands outside of Alaska.

 The Bush administration should stop its effort to weaken the stream buffer
 zone rule.  The current rule, dating from the Reagan administration,
 requires a 100-foot buffer zone to protect streams from mining activities.
 The Department of Interior has proposed changing that to merely require
 mining companies to use the best technology they can to protect streams,
 eliminating the 100-foot protection zone.

 The Bush administration should reverse its 2002 change to Clean Water Act
 rule that allows developers to use waste materials to fill in wetlands.
 This rule change legalizes mountaintop removal mining, which has already
 destroyed 1,200 miles of streams in Appalachia.

 No new voluntary initiatives can replace the weakening of wetland and
 stream protection rules carried out under the Bush administration.


Have a nice weekend,

Ananda D. Hirsch
Sierra Club
Conservation Organizer
Environmental Quality Program
Phone: (202) 675-6693

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