Waters Advocacy Coalition

Clean Water Act 'fix' has major ramifications for Nevada

While the Congress continues to march forward with legislation to drastically change the Clean Water Act, many outside of Washington are sounding the alarm about the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). Over the weekend, Liz Arnold of Eureka, Nevada wrote a column entitled “Clean Water Act ‘fix’ has major ramifications for state; Dropping one word could unleash the federal bureaucracy” in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Arnold, who is a natural resources policy advocate involved in Western land and water issues, wrote this about the CWRA:

If signed into law, the Clean Water Act would be amended to exclude the term “navigable” from the line of the law that gives the EPA regulatory authority over all “navigable waters.” Take away that word and what is left is the EPA beginning to regulate all waters…Whether you are from north or south; for or against water pipelines to Las Vegas or other similar projects; a hay farmer, cattle rancher, casino owner, developer, small-business owner or a homeowner, your costs and regulatory headaches will rise.

But the impact that the EPA regulation over all waters of the United States will have on our state’s economy promises to be a lot more severe. A few thousand is a lot of money to farmers, ranchers, small businesses or miners given the already high cost of compliance and regulations of all sorts, especially in hard economic times.

As the Congress continues to debate the CWRA, Americans who are concerned about the CWRA and how it would institute sweeping new changes to the federal Clean Water Act should send a loud message to Congress that states and local authorities should continue to lead the regulation of land and water use, not the federal government.