Burning Rivers, Dead Lakes: Weakening The Clean Water Act

"Passed in 1970, the Clean Water Act promised to eliminate pollution in Americas waters by 1985 by prohibiting unpermitted discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States...it did succeed in ending the dark ages when the Cuyahoga River burned, Lake Erie was declared dead and Americans could not safely fish or swim in our major rivers...These longstanding principles are now under ferocious attack by developers and polluters who recognize in the newly-constituted Supreme Court a fresh opportunity to decimate thirty five of environmental protection...The right wing...wish to cede our nations tributaries and wetlands back to polluting industries. In the words of a horrified Justice Souter, All you've got to do is dump the pollutant far enough up the water system to get away scot free."