Rep. Napolitano: "We must do all we can to protect our water"

(Washington, DC) Today, at a joint House and Senate hearing, “The Impacts Of The Proposed Waters of the United States Rule on State and Local Governments,” Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32) called for protection of clean water while providing regulatory certainty to water agencies, residents, and businesses.

“The proposed rule is an attempt to undo the confusion and uncertainty created by the former administration in a way that protects both the nation’s economy as well as its water-related environment,” Napolitano said. “This rulemaking is necessary because nearly 125 million Americans, over one-third of the total population, rely on public drinking water systems that draw from surface waters. In California alone, over 7 million rely on intermittent, ephemeral, and headwater streams for their daily drinking water supply.”

She argued if private interests are successful in blocking this rule, it is the public who will suffer, adding,

“In my state, it will mean less publicly available drinking water, less protection over those drinking water sources that remain, and an increased likelihood of flooding for our communities. We must do all we can to protect these water resources, because this is all we have. When the water dries up, our way of life and our local economies will dry up with it.”

Today’s bicameral hearing between the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was the first of its kind. Napolitano is the Ranking Member on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. Her full opening statement from today’s hearing can be viewed here.

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