"Today's news that the Clean Water Act will continue to protect our wetlands and streams is welcome news for river-lovers and everyone concerned about their drinking water, but if the Administration really cares about protecting wetlands it needs to suspend an order that puts over 20 million acres at risk and is still in effect.

"We're glad this particular bad idea is off the table. It should never have gotten this far in the first place. The credit for its being discarded is shared by 39 states, 85 stream ecologists, six multi-state associations and commissions, sportsmen, environmentalists, and members of the general public who spoke out against it. Now let's move forward with some good ideas.

"Forty percent of our rivers are still too polluted to fish or swim in, and the situation is getting worse, not better. Forty-eight states have issued fish advisories because of health concerns. We still have a trillion-dollar backlog in our water and sewer infrastructure. And U.S. water quality began declining in 1998 for the first time since the 1970s.

"Now that the Administration has reversed course on a policy that would have undermined the foundations of the Clean Water Act itself, we can make progress instead, by:

Lifting a federal guidance that?s still in place, forcing EPA field staff and Army Corps of Engineers to check with Washington before protecting an estimated 20 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states that remain at risk of losing protection under the Clean Water Act;

Keeping raw sewage out of our rivers, to lower the rate of waterborne disease;

Investing in source water protection, because it's cheaper to keep water clean in the first place than to spend money after the fact cleaning it up;

Putting in place an effective program to reduce the water pollution running off our fields and streets;

Reinvesting in our water and sewer infrastructure so we don't go back to the water pollution levels of the 1970s as EPA has predicted;

Doing a better job on enforcement so that water polluters know they'll pay the price; and,

Passing the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act to make it clear that all waters of the United States are protected, now and for the future."