While on vacation, I stopped in Representative Boswell's office this past Monday and met his new environmental Legislative Assistant, John Davis. I gave John a copy of the "Dear Colleague"  letter and asked Representative Boswell to sign on. The issue and the letter are described below. I let Ananda know that Rep. Boswell was contacted.

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Letters or phone calls ( at 282-1909) to the Des Moines office by others in Rep. Boswells district could only help.

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Dear Water Activists,

Once again, we need your help to stop the Bush administration from
crippling the Clean Water Act.

After much hard work on the part of activists across the country, we have
found several members of Congress to lead an effort to send a message to
the Bush administration that the Clean Water Act should continue to protect
all of our nation's waters.  These four champions for clean water,
Representatives Saxton, Leach, Oberstar and Dingell, are circulating a
"Dear Colleague" letter to other members of Congress, asking them to join
in urging the administration recall its guidance and discontinue their
rulemaking process.  Both actions, the guidance and the rulemaking,
jeopardize the safety of many wetlands, small streams and ponds.  A similar
"Dear Colleague" letter will be circulating through the Senate soon.  We
will let you know as soon as that letter is finalized.

Through this "Dear Colleague"  letter, members of Congress will add their
voices to those of individuals, states and organizations.  This is a great
method for influencing the administration!  The more members of Congress
who sign on to this letter, the stronger the message will be.  Please
contact your member of Congress and urge them to sign on to the this "Dear
Colleague" letter.   There are several ways in which you can contact your
member of Congress.

   The most effective way to communicate with your Representative is to set
   up a face-to-face meeting with him or her.  Members of Congress are at
   home during the Congressional recess in August so now is an ideal time
   to do this.  Meeting with a member is really fairly simple, and we will
   gladly assist you with the entire process- from helping you schedule a
   meeting, to providing you with talking points and materials for the
   meeting.
   If you have less time but still want to ensure that your message is
   truly personal, please send a letter to your Representative at:
          The Honorable (full name)
          U.S. House of Representatives
          Washington, DC 20515

Here is a sample letter which you may customize:

Dear Representative_______________:

Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, we have made considerable progress
in cleaning up our nation's waterways over the past three decades.  Today
_______________ (name of a local waterbody) is much cleaner than it was 30
years ago, but the clean-up job is far from over.  We should be focusing on
enforcing and strengthening the Clean Water Act.

Unfortunately, the Bush administration has said that it will no longer
enforce the Clean Water Act to protect many small streams, wetlands and
other waters. This doesn't make sense. All waters should continue to be
covered by the Clean Water Act. Please sign on to the "Dear Colleague"
letter being circulated by Representatives Saxton, Leach, Oberstar and
Dingell, which urges President Bush not to eliminate existing protections
for the nation's waters and to rescind the guidance they recently issued.

The job of the EPA should be to protect America's waters from pollution.
The EPA's rulemaking process ignores the fact that small streams, vernal
pools, prairie potholes and supposedly isolated wetlands flow into our
groundwater, rivers and lakes.   The EPA's rulemaking process also
threatens the Clean Water Act's goals of restoring and protecting America's
waterways.

Please protect ______________'s (name of your state) waters by signing the
letter urging President Bush to protect all our waters.

Sincerely,

   If you have even less time, you can use our automated form online and
   send an email to your Representative.  Visit
   http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=215 and send the Clean Water
   take action.

Thank you for continued help!  If you would like to see a copy of the "Dear
Colleague" letter, please reply to this email and I will send you an
electronic version of the letter.  If you would like more information
regarding this issue or are interested in possible meeting with your
Representative, please call or email me.

Thanks,
Ananda D. Hirsch
Sierra Club
Program Assistant
Environmental Quality Program
Phone: (202) 675-6693




Erin E. Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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