Near my home, the Scantic River is a magnet for paddlers, hikers, foragers, picnickers - an oasis between the suburbs of Enfield and Somers, Connecticut. A new pub on its shores, Powder Hollow Brewery, now makes craft beer from our local waters. When I look around, it’s clear that clean water is not an abstraction - it’s an underpinning of daily life. Or it should be. Far away in Washington, a battle over clean water is coming to a head. After an extended public comment period, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is ready to finalize the Clean Water Rule.
The Clean Water Rule will close loopholes have left the drinking water sources for 2 in 3 Connecticut residents at risk. the Rule has been passionately supported by hundreds of grassroots activists nationally, and throughout Connecticut, with thousands and thousands of petitions, letters, lobbying visits, press conferences, rallies and more. Despite all this, the rule has faced concerted opposition in the form of bills to stop it and spending amendments to weaken its protections. Luckily, Connecticut's elected leaders like Senators Murphy and Blumenthal and Representatives Esty and Delauro have done what they can to make sure these dirty water efforts don't succeed.
We need them to keep that up. The Clean Water Rule is a strong, commonsense plan to make clean water a priority by restoring protections to the sources that feed the drinking water for more than 117 million Americans, including 2.2 million in CT. If there was ever a time to pay attention to Washington in order to protect what we hold dear at home, now is that time.
