We get letters

Dear Dr. XXX


Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Clean Water Restoration Act." I appreciate hearing your thoughts about this legislation and welcome the opportunity to respond.



As you know, Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) introduced the "Clean Water Restoration Act" (S. 787), which would restore the scope of waters and activities subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act that existed prior to the Supreme Court's decisions Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Rapanos v. United States. On June 18, 2009, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved the bill after incorporating a compromise authored by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to meet the goal of restoring the environmental safeguards while maintaining protections for farmers, ranchers and wastewater systems under the Clean Water Act. Please know that I will keep your support in mind should S. 787 come before the Senate for a vote.



As a supporter of the Clean Water Act and of strong protections for our nation's remaining wetlands and waterways, I am committed to working to ensure that our water resources are preserved and protected for future generations. I believe that we must carefully consider whether any legislation to address the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act will work as intended. I will keep your thoughts in mind should the amended version of S.787 as reported by the Environment and Public Works Committee comes before the full Senate for a vote.



Again, thank you for writing. If you have additional comments or questions, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours, Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ENewsletterSignup.Signup.