Numeric Nutrient Criteria and the general ability for EPA to effectively enforce the Clean Water Act is under assault. Please support the EPA’s efforts in implementing nutrient pollution standards.
Send a message to Senator Nelson asking him to stand up to our state’s big polluters and protect the EPA’s authority to keep our water clean, drinkable, fish-able and swim-able. This is an urgent matter and Senator Nelson needs to hear from as many Floridians as possible in the next few days. Let him know you support clean water for Florida’s rivers, lakes, streams, bays and springs!
You can contact him by phone (202-224-5274), fax (202-228-2183) or web mail: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm Phone calls are most effective.
On Friday (2/18) night, Congressman Tom Rooney (FL-16) added a rider to the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution – that would stop EPA from implementing the new freshwater numeric water quality standards – was adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives in a largely party-line vote, 237-189. Only 17 Republicans voted against the rider but 16 Democrats voted for it – three of those Democrats being from Florida (Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown and Ted Deutch). See Florida Times-Union story at: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-02-19/story/us-house-budget-vote-threatens-florida-clean-water-rule#ixzz1EbRJGiqS
The Rooney rider was just one of many anti-EPA amendments adopted by the House last weekend and next week the battle moves to the Senate.
Our goal now is to put enough pressure on the Senate to Oppose Section 4035 of the FY11 Continuing Resolution. This language would stop implementation and public education on the EPA rule to protect Florida’s waters from excess pollution from sewage, manure and fertilizer.
Unfortunately, Senator Nelson endorsed a similar rider to stop the EPA numeric nutrient criteria last fall. And since last summer he has refused to meet with us regarding this issue. We therefore must approach Nelson as we approached Congressman Rooney last week
You can contact him by phone (202-224-5274), fax (202-228-2183) or web mail: http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm Phone calls are most effective.
Please ask key decision makers in other states to support these standards. Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator Jack Reed, (D-RI), Subcommittee Chairman, Interior and Related Agencies, have jurisdiction over this issue and it is very important that they vote against this amendment if it is offered to the Senate bill and then it is vital that they insist on dropping the language in conference.
You can contact Chairman Inouye’s Committee office by phone (202-224-7363), fax (202-224-2100) or web mail: http://inouye.senate.gov/Contact/ContactDKI.cfm.
You can contact Chairman Reed’s Subcommittee office by phone (202-228-0774), fax (202-228-2345) or web mail: reed.senate.gov/contact/contact-share.cfm
Of course the Democratic Leader should also lead no votes against this amendment and insist on it being dropped in Conference.
You can contact Majority Leader Reid (D – NV) by phone (202- 224-3542), fax (202- 224-7327) or web mail: Web Form: reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
The opposition is doing everything it can, with many more dollars to spend, to get rid of Florida’s new nutrient pollution limits. Go to this web address http://www.3-1-2011.org/ to get a glimpse of the opposition’s maneuvers.
Send thank you messages to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (202-225-7931), who made a heroic speech on the House floor against the Rooney rider, and to Representatives Kathy Castor (202- 225-3376), Frederica Wilson (202-225-4506) and Cliff Stearns (202-225-3973), who all voted against the Rooney rider.
