Clean Water Act of 2023

The “Clean Water Act of 2023,” H.R. 5983, would continue the work of the original 1972 Clean Water Act to protect and preserve America’s streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Cosponsored by more than 100 House Democrats, the bill will reverse the dangerous Sackett decision of the U.S. Supreme Court by reinstating the historic and bipartisan, federal-state partnership that has protected our rivers, streams, and wetlands for over 50 years; establish a clear, level playing field for businesses and industries to thrive while protecting our critical natural resources; and ensure clean water for families and communities.

Background

Clean water is a basic human right.

Families rely on clean water for drinking water, cooking, cleaning and bathing. Farmers and brewers rely on clean water to produce the food and beverages that consumers enjoy. Manufacturers rely on clean water to create the goods that people and businesses use. Communities rely on clean water to fuel local economies and rely on a network of streams and wetlands to protect against flooding and coastal storms. Hunters, fishers, birders and those who enjoy the great outdoors depend on healthy waters and wetlands to sustain wildlife and preserve our ability to safely recreate.

By the 1970s, decades of unchecked industrial pollution and a patchwork of regulations putting downstream states at the mercy of their upstream neighbors led to a water quality crisis. The Great Lakes were pronounced dead. Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught on fire. The Potomac River was called a “national disgrace.”

Congress knew it had to act.

In 1972, Congress—by a 10-to-1 margin—enacted the Clean Water Act (CWA) over the veto of President Richard Nixon. This bedrock environmental legislation set the nation on a path to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” For fifty years, the CWA provided the framework for states to enforce minimum levels of protection for our rivers, streams, and wetlands, allowing state partners to implement more rigorous standards, if necessary, to protect local water resources.

Then disaster struck.

In May of 2023, the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency ruling gutted the long-established clean water protections and norms for which waters and wetlands remain protected. By eliminating the framework for decades of clean water successes, the Court reinstated the failed state-by-state, go-it-alone approach to protecting local water quality, and the human health, economic, and environmental benefits these waterbodies provide. This decision leaves states virtually powerless to protect the quality of their local waters from pollution flowing from upstream states and replaces a program with 50 years of success in improving water quality with a patchwork of differing state standards and priorities—with more and more states taking action to further limit which waters and wetlands are protected at the state level.

In response, more than 100 House Democrats introduced the “Clean Water Act of 2023,” H.R. 5983, to reverse the dangerous Sackett decision by reinstating the historic and bipartisan, federal-state partnership that has protected our rivers, streams, and wetlands for over 50 years; establishing a clear, level playing field for businesses and industries to thrive while protecting our critical natural resources; and ensuring clean water for families and communities.

Additional Background

In July 2023, Ranking Members Larsen and Napolitano joined Democratic colleagues and clean water advocates for a roundtable titled: “Murky Waters: Navigating a Post-Sackett World.” During the roundtable, members and experts discussed the potential impacts on water quality, human and environmental health, and local economies as a result of the Sackett decision. The roundtable culminated in the report titled “Lessons from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Democratic Roundtable – Murky Waters: Navigating a Post-Sackett World.” The report outlines the real-world impacts of the Sackett decision and identifies critical waterbodies that are now at risk of degradation or destruction. The report also discusses how 50 years of federal clean water investment and progress in reviving local waterbodies could be squandered, even if proactive measures are taken at a state or local level. Lessons learned from the roundtable, along with input from communities and stakeholders, contributed to the Clean Water Act of 2023. To read the report, click here.

Leads: Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) and 130 House Democrats introduced H.R. 5983, the Clean Water Act of 2023.

Cosponsors: Reps. Larsen, Napolitano, Beyer, Stansbury, Adams, Aguilar, Allred, Auchincloss, Balint, Barragan, Beatty, Blumenauer, Blunt Rochester, Bonamici, Bowman, Brownley, Carbajal, Cardenas, Carson, Carter, Cartwright, Casar, Case, Casten, Castor, Castro, Chu, Clarke, Cleaver, Cohen, Connolly, Crockett, Crow, Davis (Danny), DeGette, DelBene, DeSaulnier, Dingell, Escobar, Espaillat, Evans, Foster, Foushee, Frankel, Frost, Garcia (Chuy), Garcia (Robert), Garcia (Sylvia), Goldman, Gomez, Gottheimer, Grijalva, Higgins, Hoyle, Huffman, Jackson Lee, Jacobs, Jayapal, Johnson, Kamlager-Dove, Kaptur, Khanna, Kilmer, Kim, Krishnamoorthi, Lee (Barbara), Leger Fernandez, Levin, Lieu, Lynch, Magaziner, Matsui, McClellan, McCollum, McGarvey, McGovern, Menendez, Meng, Mfume, Moore, Morelle, Moulton, Mullin, Nadler, Neguse, Norcross, Norton, Ocasio-Cortez, Pallone, Pascrell, Payne Jr., Peters, Pingree, Porter, Pressley, Quigley, Ramirez, Raskin, Ruppersberger, Salinas, Sanchez, Sarbanes, Scanlon, Schakowsky, Schiff, Schneider, Scholten, Scott (Bobby), Sewell, Smith, Stevens, Strickland, Takano, Thanedar, Thompson (Bennie), Titus, Tokuda, Tonko, Torres, Trahan, Trone, Vargas, Vasquez, Velazquez, Wasserman Schultz, Waters, Watson Coleman, Wexton, Williams, Wilson

 

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