Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Chair, as the vice chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 7023.

This bill is a combination of attacks on the Clean Water Act that, all together, will threaten access to the clean, safe water our communities rely on.

This bill would protect polluters and make it easier for dangerous pollutants like lead, mercury, and arsenic to enter our waterways. The more pollutants that enter our source waters, the greater the cost to clean them up. The greater the cost it is to clean up our water, the more expensive it is for our constituents.

In my district, we have seen the rising costs of water, and plenty of communities are also struggling to afford their water bills. While I have been working throughout this Congress to improve access to affordable, quality water in my district and beyond, the majority has been undermining my efforts and others with bills like this.

For example, in committee, I offered an amendment that would have protected our drinking water from pesticides and prevented water rate increases by passing the cleanup costs to the polluters. My Republican colleagues voted down this commonsense amendment and preferred to have my constituents and their constituents pay for bad actors.

Water is an essential resource, and people in Ohio's 13th Congressional District depend upon access to clean water for their lives and livelihoods.

We must protect our waters from dangerous pollutants and also prevent working people and families from having to foot the bill for pollution and discharges.

Finally, I would also like to discuss how this bill relates to last year's disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, which occurred just miles away from my district, and the ongoing issues we are seeing as a result.

Changes within H.R. 7023 would allow large projects like railways or pipelines to go forward without any consideration for the broader impact that they will have on the communities that they are constructed in.

The bill limits what is considered an impact, so when used for a new rail line, the Corps will not be able to consider a rail spill, toxic materials that may be transported on the railroad, or other disastrous scenarios, just like we saw in Ohio.

These secondary impacts can be huge for the nearby environment and the communities, and with the East Palestine derailment, they certainly were.

Worse yet, other parts of this bill will limit the ability to review, taking away the ability of a community to advocate for itself and be involved in the process of a major project in their own neighborhoods.

I will continue, Mr. Chair, advocating for sensible permitting reform that allows businesses to grow and considers the health and safety of consumers in adjacent communities, but, Mr. Chair, this bill is not it.

I firmly believe H.R. 7023 will only make ongoing issues worse in my State and district, as well as yours. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

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