World Water Day 2016
Today is World Water Day. This international day of action for clean water should serve as a reminder that we must prioritize the factors that contribute to maximizing our access to clean water. In the United States Senate, I have long supported policy and fought for funding to ensure that families and our economy can benefit from clean water.
Every American needs and deserves clean water. The recent tragedy in Flint, Michigan, underscores one simple fact: clean water does not just happen. When I turn on the faucet, the water that comes out has already taken a long journey to reach my glass. Flint has alerted many people in America to the importance of clean water and to the dangers of ignoring the policies and mechanisms that protect clean water. Sadly, the issues facing the people of Flint are not unique to Flint itself. Across the country, communities are suffering from a lack of clean water. So far in 2016, I’ve placed a priority on making the federal government a productive partner in ensuring that the water coming out of the tap is safe. Below is only a sampling of my work to guarantee clean water for all.
A Comprehensive Response to National Crisis in Safe Drinking Water
Clean water is one of the most basic foundations of our daily lives — we ignore its safe storage and delivery at our own peril. Unfortunately, for too long we have overlooked the need to invest in this key aspect of our future, and children in communities like Flint are the ones being made to suffer most. We can and must immediately do more as a country to better protect our waters and our kids, and these bills will help us do exactly that. I’ve introduced a comprehensive package to deal with the crisis in Flint and beyond.
S. 2588, Grants and Education To Tackle Homeowner Exposure to Lead Ensuring America Drinks Only from Unpolluted Taps Act of 2016 (GET THE LEAD OUT Act of 2016) — provides grants to reduce lead in community drinking water supplies and delivery systems.
S. 2587, Copper and Lead Evaluation and Reporting Act of 2016 (CLEAR Act) — updates the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the EPA to develop new regulations to improve reporting, testing and monitoring related to lead and copper levels in drinking water.
S. 2586, Thorough Evaluation of State Testing to Kick-start Investigations before Damage is Suffered Act of 2016 (TEST KIDS Act) — requires states to report elevated blood lead levels to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CDC to investigate clusters of elevated blood lead levels.
S. 2583, Firm, Unwavering National Dedication to Water Act of 2016 (FUND Water Act) — more than triples the authorized appropriations to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Clean Water State Revolving Fund. S. 2583 updates Senator Cardin’s bill, S. 2532, to begin increased funding in FY17.
I spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate in support of the Stabenow / Peters Amendment on the crisis going on in Flint…medium.com
Beyond Infrastructure
Underfunding of our vital water and wastewater infrastructure is an issue we simply cannot ignore. Pipes may be out of sight, but they cannot be out of mind. We urgently need to minimize the risks to our communities and our children. Urban, rural and suburban neighborhoods — in every community in America — all rely on safe, clean water. Our health and our livelihoods will continue to be in danger if we do not act decisively. Part of that decisive action involves going beyond infrastructure. We need environmental policies that help ensure water is safe, long before is enters a pipe.
Two weeks ago, I welcomed a decision by the Obama administration to withdraw its latest plans to drill for oil and natural gas off of the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
For years, I have strongly opposed plans to expand drilling operations off the Atlantic Coast. It is my hope that this decision finally puts to rest any and all misguided attempts to endanger the economic viability and environmental health of the region. America is already the largest producer of oil and natural gas. The risk for another Deepwater Horizon-type disaster simply outweighs any potential benefits associated with more drilling. Oil spills and the damage associated with seismic exploration do not respect state boundaries, making drilling anywhere on the Atlantic Coast a threat everywhere on the Atlantic Coast.
An oil spill would be economically and environmentally devastating to the Chesapeake Bay and the entire region. The Chesapeake Bay sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs in the region and generates billions of dollars. A clean Chesapeake Bay is in the best interest of all Marylanders and Americans.
That’s why I am pushing to make oyster restoration a top priority for the federal government and all states in the watershed. Oysters are not a magic bullet for bay restoration but they play an integral role.
Take a look.
See that? That’s right, not only do oysters support jobs, they also act as natural filters in the Chesapeake Bay.
Unfortunately, there are efforts underway to scuttle the momentum generated by years of research, planning and hard-fought federal funding. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is now asking the Army Corps of Engineers to halt an oyster restoration project in the Tred Avon River near St. Michael’s, Md.
The Chesapeake Bay is Maryland’s greatest natural treasure and one of our most valuable economic assets. In order to…medium.com
Oysters are not a magic bullet for bay restoration but they play an integral role. We won’t accomplish the goal of clean water for all over night, but I am committed to working with members from both houses of Congress to ensure that all Americans have access to clean water.
