Please call your U.S. Senators today and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 951, the so-called Regulatory Accountability Act, which would actually obstruct enforcing regulations that protect our clean air and water. As Suwannee Riverkeeper among 121 U.S. Waterkeeper Members and Affiliates told the EPA yesterday, we need stronger protections against coal ash, unnecessary pipelines, and fracking, not less. Solar and wind power already employ more people than coal, oil, and gas combined, so there’s no economic reason to let the failing fossil fuel industry crimp our regulatory system like this, and every reason of drinking water, industry, recreation, and wildlife to keep it clean.
That’s 202-224-3121
Georgia: David Perdue and Johnny Isakson
Florida: Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio
Larissa Liebmann, Waterkeeper Alliance, 15 May 2017, Don’t let Industry Hijack our Regulatory Process!
The RAA would give industry an even bigger influence than it already has in Washington, D.C. by forcing agencies to prioritize minimizing industry costs over providing essential public health and environmental protections. The RAA would also massively complicate agencies’ processes to create and finalize regulations — wasting time and taxpayer money. This means it would take even longer for agencies to put new safeguards in place, and may even mean they decide not to take action on important issues. The added requirements in the bill also provide more opportunities for industry to slow down or stop new regulations.
In sum, the goal of the RAA is simple — to protect industry profits from essential public health and environmental regulations. It would hijack the regulatory process, put industry in the driver’s seat and hamstring agencies’ ability to protect the American public.
Yesterday Suwannee Riverkeeper was among 121 of the 169 U.S. Waterkeeper Members and Affiliates co-signing comment with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Clean Water Act and against regulatory rollbacks.
Waterkeeper Alliance, 16 May 2017, Waterkeeper Alliance Submits Comments Opposing EPA Regulatory Rollbacks,
“In the 45 years since its passage, the Clean Water Act has significantly reduced the pollution that plagues our waterways and communities; nevertheless, there remain major water quality problems across the country,” said Marc Yaggi, Executive Director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Rather than strengthening our clean water laws, the current administration’s ‘regulatory reform’ efforts threaten to take us back to the days when our rivers were so polluted they caught fire. The administration should seek to ensure cleaner, safer, water for our children and future generations. Instead, it is looking for giveaways to corporate polluters at the expense of public health and environment.”
Follow this link for the PDF, and below are the main points:
EPA’S PROCESS, CRITERIA AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR “REVIEWING EXISTING REGULATIONS” ARE INADEQUATE AND CONTRARY TO LAW
- The E.O. 13777 Notice Contains Inadequate Information About EPA’s Process for Conducting, and Opportunity for Public Participation in, this Regulatory Review
- EPA’s Regulatory Review Cannot Legally be Limited to the Single Policy Objective and Six Criteria set forth in the E.O. 13777 Notice
- EPA’s Regulatory Review Must Consider the Importance and Benefits of EPA’s Regulations.
Conclusion
For all of the foregoing reasons, Waterkeeper Alliance and the undersigned Waterkeeper Organizations object to the withdrawal, modification or revocation of any EPA regulation that results from the EPA’s E.O. 13777 Notice itself and/or the process and criteria set forth in that notice.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
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