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    I'm just a billThe Clean Water Protection Act


    The Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310) is a bill in the US House of Representatives which will sharply reduce mountaintop removal coal mining, protect clean drinking water for many of our nation's cities. It will protect the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent catastrophic flooding and pollution or loss of drinking water as a result of mountaintop removal coal mining.

    From the east coast, to the west coast, to the states where it's taking place, Americans want an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. Building on that momentum, and with a friendlier administration and Congress, we have a real chance to pass the Clean Water Protection Act in the 111th Congress. Please contact your representative today and ask them to become a cosponsor!

     

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    164

    cosponsors,
    and
    counting...

     

    Congress at a Glance

    Who's your rep?

    Who are your elected officials?

    Find answers to who, where, and why.

    Follow the coal Money

    Connections to coal

    Track campaign contributions from the coal industry to federal officials.

    The most effective way to build support for the Clean Water Protection Act is by sending a hand written, supportive letter to your Representative in the House. For the fastest response to your letter, we recommend sending it to a district office.

    Although it's less effective, you can also use our free automated dialing tool to call their office, or send them an email with our new webform.

    Regardless of how you contact your Representative, here are some important points to make:

     
    Resources

    1. List of current cosponsors
    2. Clean Water Protection Act fact sheet (pdf)
    3. Clean Water Protection Act bill text (pdf)
    4. Representative Pallone's (lead sponsor) floor statement (pdf)
    5. Dear Colleague letter from lead sponsor (pdf)
    6. New York Times editorial (pdf)
    7. Lobbying brochure - full color (pdf)
    8. Congressional briefing packet (pdf) - Presented to members of Congress in 2006.
    9. How to Schedule a Lobby Visit (pdf)
    10. Materials and Guidelines for Lobby Visits (pdf)
    11. Mountaintop Removal tours for cities across the USA
    12. Bloggers ChallengeBlog posts about the introduction into the 111th Congress
    13. NewsNews coverage of the introduction into the 111th Congress

     
    In-depth

    Kayford Mountain, 06/15/05, photo by Vivian Stockman courtesy of OVECIn 1977, The Clean Water Act was enacted by Congress to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." For 25 years, the Clean Water Act (CWA) allowed for the granting of permits to place "fill material" into waters of the United States, provided that the primary purpose of the "filling" was not for waste disposal. As such, the CWA prohibited mountaintop removal operations from using the nation's waterways as waste disposal sites.

    That changed in 2002, when the Army Corps of Engineers, under the direction of the Bush administration and without congressional approval, altered its longstanding definition of "fill material" to include mining waste. This change accelerated the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and the destruction of more than 2,000 miles of Appalachian streams. More than 400,000 acres in West Virginia alone have been leveled, and the EPA Estimates that by the end of the decade a total of 1.4 million acres of Appalachia's mountains and hardwood forests will be destroyed by mountain removal mining, which is an area the size of of Delaware.

    In May of 2002, in response to the Army Corps' rule change, The Clean Water Protection Act was introduced into the House of Representatives by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and Christopher Shays (R-CT). Since then, it's enjoyed a groundswell of bi-partisan support.

    Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Waterkeeper Alliance put it succinctly:

    "The Clean Water Protection Act is the first broad Congressional initiative aimed at reversing the Bush Administration's eight-year effort to savage our national waterways and the popular laws that protect them."

    On May 4, 2007, the Clean Water Protection Act was introduced in to the 110th Congress with 55 original cosponsors. Because Representatives from around the country received thousands of letters from people like you, it ended last session with a record 153 bipartisan cosponsors. On March 4th 2009, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ), Congressman John Yarmuth (KY), and Congressman Dave Reichert (WA) introduced H.R. 1310 with 117 original cosponsors in the 111th Congress; more than twice the number of original cosponsors at the beginning of last session! It currently has 164 cosponsors.

    For more information contact Appalachian Voices at 828-262-1500 or www.appvoices.org.

     

     

    The Clean Water Protection Act - H.R. 1310

    Call your Rep Write your Rep Coal Connections Who's your Rep?

     

    164 cosponsors in the 111th Congress (2009 - 2010) as of March 5, 2010

    Congress-person State District Congress-person State District
    Raul M. Grijalva AZ 7 John Conyers MI 14
    Gabrielle Giffords AZ 8 Betty McCollum MN 4
    Doris O. Matsui CA 5 Keith Ellison MN 5
    Lynn C. Woolsey CA 6 Wm. Lacy Clay MO 1
    George Miller CA 7 Russ Carnahan MO 3
    Barbara Lee CA 9 Emanuel Cleaver MO 5
    Ellen O. Tauscher CA 10 G. K. Butterfield NC 1
    Jerry McNerney CA 11 David E. Price NC 4
    Jackie Speier CA 12 Larry Kissell NC 8
    Fortney Pete Stark CA 13 Heath Shuler NC 11
    Anna G. Eshoo CA 14 Melvin L. Watt NC 12
    Michael M. Honda CA 15 Brad Miller NC 13
    Zoe Lofgren CA 16 Carol Shea-Porter NH 1
    Sam Farr CA 17 Paul W. Hodes NH 2
    Lois Capps CA 23 Robert E. Andrews NJ 1
    Brad Sherman CA 27 Christopher H. Smith NJ 4
    Howard L. Berman CA 28 Frank Pallone NJ 6
    Adam B. Schiff CA 29 Leonard Lance NJ 7
    Henry A. Waxman CA 30 Bill Pascrell NJ 8
    Judy Chu CA 32 Steven R. Rothman NJ 9
    Diane E. Watson CA 33 Donald M. Payne NJ 10
    Lucille Roybal-Allard CA 34 Rush D. Holt NJ 12
    Maxine Waters CA 35 Albio Sires NJ 13
    Jane Harman CA 36 Timothy H. Bishop NY 1
    Laura Richardson CA 37 Steve Israel NY 2
    Grace F. Napolitano CA 38 Carolyn McCarthy NY 4
    Linda T. Sanchez CA 39 Gary L. Ackerman NY 5
    Loretta Sanchez CA 47 Joseph Crowley NY 7
    Bob Filner CA 51 Jerrold Nadler NY 8
    Susan A. Davis CA 53 Anthony D. Weiner NY 9
    Diana DeGette CO 1 Edolphus Towns NY 10
    Jared Polis CO 2 Yvette D. Clarke NY 11
    John B. Larson CT 1 Nydia M. Velazquez NY 12
    Joe Courtney CT 2 Michael E. McMahon NY 13
    Rosa L. DeLauro CT 3 Carolyn B. Maloney NY 14
    James A. Himes CT 4 Charles B. Rangel NY 15
    Christopher S. Murphy CT 5 Jose E. Serrano NY 16
    Eleanor Holmes Norton DC Eliot L. Engel NY 17
    Corrine Brown FL 3 Nita M. Lowey NY 18
    Alan Grayson FL 8 John J. Hall NY 19
    Kathy Castor FL 11 Paul D. Tonko NY 21
    Kendrick B. Meek FL 17 Maurice D. Hinchey NY 22
    Robert Wexler FL 19 John M. McHugh NY 23
    Debbie Wasserman Schultz FL 20 Michael A. Arcuri NY 24
    Alcee L. Hastings FL 23 Brian Higgins NY 27
    Henry C. "Hank Johnson GA 4 Louise McIntosh Slaughter NY 28
    John Lewis GA 5 Eric J. J. Massa NY 29
    Neil Abercrombie HI 1 Steve Driehaus OH 1
    Mazie K. Hirono HI 2 Dennis J. Kucinich OH 10
    Bruce L. Braley IA 1 Marcia L. Fudge OH 11
    Walter Minnick ID 1 Betty Sutton OH 13
    Bobby L. Rush IL 1 Mary Jo Kilroy OH 15
    Jesse L. Jackson IL 2 Tim Ryan OH 17
    Daniel Lipinski IL 3 David Wu OR 1
    Luis V. Gutierrez IL 4 Earl Blumenauer OR 3
    Danny K. Davis IL 7 Peter A. DeFazio OR 4
    Janice D. Schakowsky IL 9 Chaka Fattah PA 2
    Mark Steven Kirk IL 10 Joe Sestak PA 7
    Phil Hare IL 17 Patrick J. Murphy PA 8
    Andre Carson IN 7 Allyson Y. Schwartz PA 13
    Dennis Moore KS 3 Todd Russell Platts PA 19
    John A. Yarmuth KY 3 Patrick J. Kennedy RI 1
    Ben Chandler KY 6 James R. Langevin RI 2
    John W. Olver MA 1 John M. Spratt SC 5
    Richard E. Neal MA 2 Jim Cooper TN 5
    James P. McGovern MA 3 Bart Gordon TN 6
    Barney Frank MA 4 Steve Cohen TN 9
    Niki Tsongas MA 5 Lloyd Doggett TX 25
    John F. Tierney MA 6 Robert C. "Bobby" Scott VA 3
    Edward J. Markey MA 7 Thomas S.P. Perriello VA 5
    Michael E. Capuano MA 8 James P. Moran VA 8
    William D. Delahunt MA 10 Frank R. Wolf VA 10
    John P. Sarbanes MD 3 Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly VA 11
    Donna F. Edwards MD 4 Donna M. Christensen VI
    Elijah E. Cummings MD 7 Peter Welch VT
    Chris Van Hollen MD 8 Jay Inslee WA 1
    Chellie Pingree ME 1 Brian Baird WA 3
    Michael H. Michaud ME 2 Jim McDermott WA 7
    Vernon J. Ehlers MI 3 David G. Reichert WA 8
    Dale E. Kildee MI 5 Adam Smith WA 9
    Sander M. Levin MI 12 Tammy Baldwin WI 2
    Carolyn C. Kilpatrick MI 13 Steve Kagen WI 8


       

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