Urge Congress to Protect Additional Waterways from Being Destroyed

The Issue

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Due to a Supreme Court ruling on the Clean Water Act, mining companies may now pump hundreds of thousands of gallons per day of toxic wastewater slurry into an Alaskan lake, killing its fish and aquatic life. Send a message that this is unacceptable!

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Re: H.R. 1310 Please prevent valuable waterways from being filled with mining waste

Dear [Decision Maker],

Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1972 "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity" of the waters of the United States. The Act allowed the filling of waterways for constructive purposes, such as dams or levees, however protected waterways from being used as waste disposal sites. However, in 2002 the Bush administration issued a rulemaking which effectively removed this protection, permitting mining companies to fill our nation's waterways with the toxin-laden waste material.

On June 22, 2009 the Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Water Act permits a mining company to pump hundreds of thousands of gallons per day of toxic wastewater slurry into an Alaskan lake, killing its fish and aquatic life.

The ruling has dire implications for other waterways across the country, but Congress can act promptly to ensure lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands are not destroyed by industrial waste dumping by passing the Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 1310.

The Supreme Court's recent decision to allow Kensington gold mine near Juneau to pump over 200,000 gallons per day of waste directly into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest is based in part on the Bush administration change to the definition of "fill". This rule change has also allowed thousands of miles of Appalachian streams to be buried with coal mining waste, and more will be lost if Congress does not act quickly.

The Clean Water Protection Act serves to reinstate the original intent of the Clean Water Act and protect waterways from being filled with mining waste. Congress must act now to pass this legislation before more of our waters are lost and the communities and economies that depend on them are harmed.

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