Bush Administration Clean Water Choices

August 6, 2001

Report on Bush Administration Clean Water Choices

NRDC released "Clean Water, Clear Choice: Upcoming Bush Administration Decisions on Water Pollution" on its Web site to give reporters, producers and editorial writers a check list of pending federal decisions on protecting water. Check out the report at the following link:(<http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/cwcc/cwccinx.asp>)

NRDC's new report, "Clean Water, Clear Choice: Upcoming Bush Administration Decisions on Water Pollution," explains the significance of these decisions.

The report reviews the following issues:
 *     Permits to destroy America's wetlands. NRDC expects the Army  Corps of Engineers to propose weaker wetlands standards within the  next few days.
 *     PCBs in the Hudson River. NRDC expects the Environmental  Protection Agency to make an official decision on General Electric's  PCB dumping in the Hudson River by September, but the agency could
 make it as early as this week.
 *     Raw sewage discharges. NRDC expects that in the next few months  the Bush administration will make a decision on preventing sewage and  its health hazards from spilling into streets, basements and
 waterways.
 *     Arsenic in drinking water. Violating the Safe Drinking Water  Act, President Bush delayed the decision to prevent cancer-causing  arsenic levels in our drinking water.
 *     Radon in drinking water. The administration recently missed a  deadline to establish radon standards, violating the Safe Drinking  Water Act.
 *     Parasites in drinking water. The administration also missed a  deadline to protect Americans who use small drinking water systems  from the health risks caused by parasites.> *     Impaired waters. The
moratorium on the "total maximum daily  load" rule designed to clean up polluted waters expires in October,  and the administration recently proposed an additional 18-month delay.
 *     "Isolated" wetlands. The administration will need to make a  decision soon regarding its interpretation of the scope of the recent  Supreme Court ruling on isolated wetlands.