Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act

The document asserts that U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 effectively broke the Clean Water Act by interpreting its protections as applying only to "navigable" waters. This interpretation has allegedly led to the loss of safeguards for up to 60 percent of streams and rivers and 20 percent of wetlands, affecting watersheds that supply drinking water for over 110 million Americans. The author advocates for the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would replace the term "navigable" with "waters of the United States" to restore broad federal protections. The text notes that since 2001, an estimated 10,000 water bodies have been polluted or destroyed without federal limits, and the EPA has failed to pursue over 300 pollution cases following the 2006 ruling.

• U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 2001 and 2006 created a loophole by interpreting the Clean Water Act as applying only to "navigable" waters, which the author claims effectively broke the law.
• The legal shift in interpretation may leave 60 percent of streams and rivers and 20 percent of wetlands without Clean Water Act safeguards, impacting drinking water sources for more than 110 million Americans.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers have reduced enforcement and oversight following the court rulings; the EPA failed to pursue over 300 water pollution cases, and an estimated 10,000 water bodies were polluted or destroyed without federal limits since 2001.
• The proposed Clean Water Restoration Act aims to restore the original intent of Congress by replacing the word "navigable" with the phrase "waters of the United States."

APA

Earthjustice (2009). Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act. https://earthjustice.org/article/fixing-broken-clean-water-act

Chicago

Earthjustice. Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act. 2009. https://earthjustice.org/article/fixing-broken-clean-water-act.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Earthjustice |title=Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act |date=17 February 2009 |url=https://earthjustice.org/article/fixing-broken-clean-water-act |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{earthjustice2009fixing, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Fixing the Broken Clean Water Act}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://earthjustice.org/article/fixing-broken-clean-water-act}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }