Protecting Clean Air and Water

A Win for Clean Water!

In an extraordinary move, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have put the brakes on a misguided policy proposal that would have freed factory farms, mines and other polluters to dump into small streams and tributaries, ponds, springs, prairie potholes and many wetlands. Citing widespread public opposition, the agencies have announced they will not issue a new rule that would have removed Clean Water Act protections from many streams and other wetlands across the nation.

This win for Clean Water could not have been possible without your help. The outpouring of concern from citizens across the country and more than 200 members of Congress opposed to this rulemaking left no doubt that the Bush administration was on the wrong course in protecting America's waters.

While this is a good step, the Administration is must now retract guidelines that revoke Clean Water Act protections from more than 20 million acres of wetlands and it must also take the blindfold off of regulators who are looking the other way while our waters are being polluted and wetlands being filled.

Win the Right to Say "No" to Garbage
Since 1993 WORC has campaigned to protect our air and water by giving rural
people the right to say no to waste companies that want to build
out-of-state waste landfills in their communities. A series of court
decisions now protects interstate waste shipments and limits local control.
WORC seeks to pass a federal bill that gives affected citizens and officials
a say in whether out-of-state waste facilities are built.

What We Want

• Public Notification: Citizens should be notified when a waste company
  wants to build an out-of-state waste facility before state and local
  officials make any deals.
• Local Control: Elected officials should be able to just say no to
  unwanted facilities.
• Presumptive Ban: Waste companies should have to jump through hoops to
  bring out-of-state waste to a community; communities should not have to jump through hoops to keep unwanted out-of-state waste out of their communities.
• Percentage Limits: States should be able to limit the amount of imported
  waste to prevent eclipsing local waste reduction and recycling
  efforts.
• Local Needs: States should be able to deny permits to facilities that
  aren't needed by the host community.
  

Click here for more information on the "Right to Say No" bill.