Bob Schaffer: Bad for Colorado’s water

Full Report

Who can protect Colorado’s water?

Coloradans depend on clean water for drinking, recreation, agriculture and the preservation of healthy ecosystems for fish and wildlife. Clean water is especially important in arid western states like Colorado, where there is already too little water to go around.

Colorado needs a U.S. Senator who understands the importance of clean water to the state’s economy and our environment and who will take on the polluters. Unfortunately, during his time in Congress, Rep. Bob Schaffer stood with George Bush and the polluters as they worked to dismantle America’s protections for clean water.

The Bush administration’s assault on clean water

Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, America has made great progress toward cleaning up our nation’s waters. However, our rivers, lakes and streams are still in dire need of protection from industrial pollution, contaminated runoff, sewage overflows and a host of other threats.

Even today, 47 percent of America’s assessed rivers and streams and 59 percent of our assessed lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming or other uses.[9] Polluters dumped more than 244 million pounds of toxic chemicals into American waterways in 2006.[10] And more than 850 billion gallons of raw or inadequately treated sewage are discharged into waterways each year.[11]

But under George Bush, America has taken a large step backward in the protection of our precious water supplies. Time and again, the Bush administration has pushed to roll back critical protections for clean water. President Bush:

• Moved to eliminate Clean Water Act protections for 68 percent of Colorado’s streams—waterways that are critical for a variety of wildlife and feed the drinking water supplies of more than 3.5 million people.[12]

• Curtailed enforcement of the Clean Water Act. For example, major Colorado facilities exceeded their permitted amounts of water pollution more than 120 times in 2005.[13]

• Curbed the public’s right to know about toxic pollution of waterways by allowing polluters to conceal more information about their toxic discharges.[14]

• Put the interests of Big Oil ahead of the public by exempting the construction of oil and gas drilling sites from the Clean Water Act.[15]

Cleaning up America’s waterways

Americans deserve clean water and a healthy environment. To get there, we need to take a few common-sense steps:

• Restore Clean Water Act protections to all U.S. waterways, including source water streams and wetlands.

• Enforce the Clean Water Act to make sure polluters are following the law, reduce discharges of toxic chemicals, sewage and other pollution into waterways, and make polluters pay to clean up the damage they have caused.

• Invest in repairing outdated sewer systems and measures to reduce runoff pollution.

• Defend and expand the public’s right to know to know about the release of toxic pollution into our rivers, lakes and streams.

The 2008 election and clean water

Restoring America’s waterways to health won’t happen by itself. It will take strong leadership. Colorado’s next U.S. Senator must be willing to stand up to the polluters and work for real solutions to protect the quality of our waterways.

Unfortunately, during his time in the U.S. House, Rep. Bob Schaffer voted consistently to weaken protections for America’s rivers, streams and lakes—putting our environment and the health of the public at risk. On the other hand, Rep. Mark Udall has been a strong leader fighting for protection of Colorado’s critical water supplies.

Bob Schaffer: No friend of clean water

Time and again, former Rep. Bob Schaffer stood with George Bush and the polluters to weaken protections for America’s waterways. During his time in Congress, Rep. Schaffer:

• Voted against funding for proper enforcement of the Clean Water Act in 2001.[16] As a result of lax enforcement, major Colorado facilities exceeded their permitted amount of pollution more than 120 times in 2005.[17]

• Voted with George Bush against tightening the standard for arsenic in drinking water,[18] which would have exposed as many as 34 million Americans to increased risk of cancer.[19]

• Voted against stronger clean water rules for hardrock mining operations,[20] which have already polluted 40 percent of all watersheds in the West.[21]

• Voted to let polluters off the hook for paying the cost of cleaning up Superfund toxic waste sites,[22] including the 18 sites in Colorado.[23]

Mark Udall: A strong advocate for clean water

Coloradans have a choice this November. In Rep. Mark Udall, Coloradans have a champion who is willing to take on the polluters and fight to restore our waterways. During his time in Congress, Rep. Udall:

• Voted to defend the public’s right to know about toxic pollution of our waterways.[24]

• Voted to preserve Clean Water Act protections for all of Colorado’s rivers, streams and lakes.[25]

• Voted to invest in repairing and upgrading our nation’s crumbling sewage infrastructure.[26]

• Voted to ensure that Clean Water Act protections continue to apply to the construction of oil and gas drilling sites.[27]

To protect our waterways, Colorado should elect Rep. Mark Udall our next U.S. Senator.

About Environment Colorado

We all want clean air, clean water and open space. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That's the idea behind Environment Colorado. We focus exclusively on protecting Colorado’s air, water and open space. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.

Paid for by Environment Colorado at www.EnvironmentColorado.org and by Environment America at www.EnvironmentAmerica.org.

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Sources

1 NO vote on Menendez amendment to HR 2620, Vote #289, 27 July 2001.

2 Christy Leavitt, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance, October 2007.

3 NO vote on Bonior amendment to HR 2620, Vote #288, 27 July 2001.

4 Natural Resources Defense Council, Issues: Water: Arsenic in Drinking Water, downloaded from www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qarsenic.asp, 10 October 2008.

5 NO vote on Inslee amendment to HR 2217, Vote #182, 21 June 2001.

6 Earthjustice, Hardrock Mining Reform Is Long Overdue, downloaded from http://www.earthjustice.org/our_work/policy/2007/page.jsp?itemID=30984990, 14 October 2008.

7 YES vote on HR 5175, Vote #494, 26 September 2000.

8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Priorities List Sites in Colorado, downloaded from www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/co.htm, 10 October 2008.

9 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results: National Summary of State Information, downloaded from iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_nation_cy.control, 7 October 2008.

10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TRI Explorer: 2006 National Fact Sheet: United States, downloaded from www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/broker?view=STCO&trilib=TRIQ1&state=All+states&SFS=YES&year=2006&_service=oiaa&_program=xp_tri.sasmacr.tristart.macro, 7 October 2008.

11 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report to Congress on Impacts and Control of Combined Sewer Overflows and Sanitary Sewer Overflows: Fact Sheet, downloaded from www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/csosso_rtc_factsheet.pdf, 7 October 2008.

12 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Table 1: State-by-State NHD Analysis of Stream Categories and Drinking Water Data, undated.

13 Christy Leavitt, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance, October 2007.

14 “Toxics Release Inventory Burden Reduction Final Rule,” Federal Register 71:246, 76932-76945, 22 December 2006.

15 “Amendments to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Regulations for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Processing, or Treatment Operations, or Transmission Facilities; Final Rule,” Federal Register, 71: 33628-33640, 12 June 2006.

16 NO vote on Menendez amendment to HR 2620, Vote #289, 27 July 2001.

17 Christy Leavitt, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance, October 2007.

18 NO vote on Bonior amendment to HR 2620, Vote #288, 27 July 2001.

19 Natural Resources Defense Council, Issues: Water: Arsenic in Drinking Water, downloaded from www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qarsenic.asp, 10 October 2008.

20 NO vote on Inslee amendment to HR 2217, Vote #182, 21 June 2001.

21 Earthjustice, Hardrock Mining Reform Is Long Overdue, downloaded from http://www.earthjustice.org/our_work/policy/2007/page.jsp?itemID=30984990, 14 October 2008.

22 YES vote on HR 5175, Vote #494, 26 September 2000.

23 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Priorities List Sites in Colorado, downloaded from www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/co.htm, 10 October 2008.

24 YES vote on Pallone amendment to HR 5386, Vote #165, 18 May 2006.

25 YES vote on Oberstar amendment to HR 5386, Vote #169, 18 May 2006.

26 YES vote on HR 720, Vote #135, 9 March 2007.

27 YES vote on motion to instruct conferees, HR 6, Vote #618, 7 November 2003.