America’s Waters Vulnerable to Development, Pollution
Bush administration policy should be reversed
”The Bush administration is sweeping away 30 years of protection for some of our nation’s most important waters,” said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice. ”Polluters have been given a green light to ignore the Clean Water Act, even when it may affect drinking water supplies.”
Bush Administration Policy Makes America’s Waters Vulnerable to Development, Pollution
“It is ironic that while the President is touting his goal of a net gain of wetlands, his administration’s policy is exposing millions of acres of wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams to destruction,” said Julie Sibbing, a senior legislative representative at the National Wildlife Federation. “An estimated 20 percent of America’s wetlands might be open to pollution and development.”
The EPA has estimated that some 20 million acres of wetlands in the continental United States may lose federal protection under the Bush administration’s policy. In addition, tens of thousands of miles of seasonal and headwater streams and countless numbers of small lakes, and ponds could be left without federal protection from water pollution.
“The Bush administration is pursuing a short-sighted policy aimed at satisfying oil industry and other polluter interests bent on dismantling our fundamental clean water safeguards,” said Robin Mann, chair of Sierra Club’s Clean Water Campaign.
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ABQjournal: Fed Panel Weighs in on N.M. Drilling
The prospect of natural gas development in the Valle Vidal has drawn opposition from Gov. Bill Richardson, other state leaders and a broad coalition of local sportsmen, environmental groups and businesses.
Allan Lackey, a Raton businessman and former Valle Vidal outfitter, said other uses of the forest land and the voices of local people are being ignored.
“It’s been a pattern that the Bush administration has established all across the West to expand oil and gas drilling,” said Lackey, a Republican. “It’s an all-out raid on our public resource.”
El Paso Corp. was hoping the White House task force could help it speed up a decision on whether the Valle Vidal could be opened to oil and gas leasing.