New bills in Congress to protect air and water quality
Two important bills to protect the environment and the health of all Americans were introduced in Congress on March 14: the Breathe Act, sponsored by Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and the Fresher Act, sponsored by Congressman Matthew Cartwright (D-Pennsylvania).
The Breathe Act reverses a dangerous and long-standing loophole under the Clean Air Act, which exempts the oil and gas industry from compliance with critical safeguards that protect the public from toxic air pollution. The Fresher Act will close a Clean Water Act loophole that exempts the oil and gas industry from the national stormwater pollution prevention permit standard, which are critical tools for preserving water quality.
Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director, said in reaction: "The Sierra Club and our 2.1 million members and supporters applaud Congressman Polis for his leadership on the Breathe Act and we commend Congressman Cartwright for his introduction of the Fresher Act today.
“For too long, the oil and gas industry has had a free pass to endanger Americans and ignore our nation’s most important public health and environmental protections," Brune continued. "We must end the industry’s pollution spree and the introduction of the Breathe and Fresher Acts in the U.S. House today are important steps to ending the oil and gas industry’s reckless joy ride at the expense of our air, water, and land.”
To view Green Group's sign-on letters of support and send to your Congress person, see below:
Photo: Cupolas atop St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Charmichaels, a town in Greene County, Pa. The church is dwarfed by one of the smokestacks from Allegheny Energy's Hatfield Ferry generating staion, a 1,728 megawatt power plant, which began operating in 1969. While scrubbing equipment was installed to reduce air pollution, the company has dumped tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater containing chemicals from the scrubbing process into the Monongahela River, which provides drinking water to 350,000 people and flows into Pittsburgh. Credit: B. Mark Schmer
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