Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) today introduced the Clean Water Restoration Act to restore the original protections of our nation’s rivers, streams, and wetlands provided by the Clean Water Act. Feingold, who was joined by 19 of his colleagues in introducing the legislation, offered the bill as a result of the Supreme Court’s decisions in the SWANCC and Rapanos cases, which leave many of our waters without the protection intended when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. Similar legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives James Oberstar (D-MN), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), and John Dingell (D-MI).

“The law Congress passed thirty-five years ago to protect our waters from pollution has been undermined by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Feingold said. “Now is not the time for Congress to stand by idly as the protections of the Clean Water Act are rolled back.”

Feingold’s bill ensures that the Clean Water Act continues to protect our nation’s waters from pollution, rather than just sustaining the navigability of some waters. The SWANNC decision, according to EPA estimates, placed 20 percent of the nation's wetlands outside Alaska at risk of losing federal protections, while the Rapanos decision rolled back protections of the sources of drinking water for 110 million Americans. The Clean Water Act was passed by Congress in 1972 and the U.S. Senate reconfirmed the broad scope of the law again in 1977 when it rejected—by a strong, bipartisan vote—a proposal to remove federal protections from a smaller category of wetlands and other waters.

“This bill simply re-affirms Congress’s intent when it passed the Clean Water Act,” Feingold said. “It is a straight-forward proposal to safeguard our waters for generations to come. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in reaffirming a clean water pledge to the citizens of the United States.”