Donna Frye's Stand on the Issues

February 14, 2001

U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

On behalf of our organizations members, we are writing to encourage you to support federal funding to ensure that we have clean and safe water for everyone in America based on the attached principles and criteria for funding, which will ensure that we do not encourage sprawl, significant noncompliance, or use of antiquated treatment technology. Our nationís wastewater and drinking water systems are aging and many have not been adequately maintained and are now threatening public health and the environment. We need to invest in upgrading and maintaining those systems so that we can keep raw and inadequately treated sewage out of our waterways, streets, and basements; reduce the stormwater pollution that fouls our streams and closes our beaches; and protect, treat, and deliver safe water.

The need for maintaining and upgrading wastewater treatment and infrastructure is clear. Pollution from raw sewage discharges and contaminated stormwater discharges impairs our nationís rivers, lakes and coastal waters and threatens public health and aquatic life. Recreational beaches and shellfishing beds are regularly closed due to excessive bacterial contamination associated with wet weather events. During 1999, there were at least 6,000 days of beach closings and advisories, 70 percent of which were based on bacterial contamination from sewage or stormwater discharges (Testing the Waters, at vii (August 2000)). EPA estimates that there are approximately 40,000 discharges of untreated fecal matter in sewer overflows each year. Pathogens from water contaminated with human excrement can cause a wide range of diseases, including gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, and respiratory illness. Stormwater systems also carry toxic contaminants that settle in the muds of bays and rivers and can eventually be introduced into the food chain. If we do not keep sewage and contaminated stormwater out of our streams, the cost of treating water for drinking water purposes will continue to escalate for big cities and small towns.

During the past 30 years, we have provided federal dollars to assist cities and states build wastewater treatment plants. EPA estimates the value of that infrastructure investment to be between $1 and 2 trillion. To ensure that our drinking water, lakes, and streams remain safe and that existing plants are effectively used, we need to greatly increase federal investment. However, we should not merely re-build our systems to the standards of the 1970ís. We need to take advantage of innovative approaches that have been developed over the past several decades that allow us to use lot level source control (like rain gardens), stream buffers, conservation practices, and other approaches to prevent pollution so as to reduce the amount of water that needs to receive treatment or filtration before it is safe.

Many of the nationís drinking water treatment facilities and distribution systems are too old. Miles of distribution pipes need to be replaced and new treatment systems installed in order to supply safe drinking water to the public. It is becoming increasingly difficult for drinking water suppliers to find source waters that have not been impacted by nitrates, pesticides, pathogens, heavy metals, or volatile organic compounds. Each year, contaminated drinking water causes approximately 7 million cases of waterborne disease, resulting in about 1,200 deaths in the U.S., according to the scientific literature; previous unofficial figures from CDC scientists estimated that there were about 940,000 cases of waterborne disease and nearly 1,000 resulting deaths a year (Morris & Levin, 1995; Bennett et al., 1987). In addition, published studies have estimated that over 10,000 Americans may get cancer per year from just a subset of toxins that contaminate our tap water (Morris et al., 1992).

Federal funds to upgrade and maintain drinking water and wastewater infrastructure should be carefully targeted to address the enormous health and environmental threats to current populations. They should not be used to subsidize sprawl development. Invested wisely in this manner, these funds will also benefit the many local economies that depend on clean water ñ protecting and creating many thousands of sorely needed jobs in the process. Protection of public health and the environment must be the overriding goals. We must avoid the temptation to downgrade water quality standards and eliminate designated uses instead of figuring out how to make our water cleaner and safer. We need to invest in approaches that will achieve results, and we need to set our sights on obtaining water that is clean enough for all its uses -- drinking water source, water recreation, wildlife habitat, and aquatic resources. We will strenuously oppose any legislation attempting to lower water quality standards.

We would welcome the opportunity to work with you and your staff to craft legislation based on these principles and funding criteria. Thank you for your support for clean and safe water.

Sincerely,

Nancy Stoner, Natural Resource Defense Council, Washington, DC
Paul Schwartz, Clean Water Action, Washington, DC
Grant Cope, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Washington, DC
Ted Morton, American Oceans Campaign, Washington, DC
Betsy Otto, American Rivers, Washington, DC
Ed Hopkins, Sierra Club, Washington, DC
Gawain Kripke, Friends of the Earth, Washington, DC
Tricia Sheets, Cahaba River Society, Birmingham, AL
Brad McLane, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Birmingham, AL
Kay Friedlander. Alabama Environmental Council, Fairhope, AL
Mark Gold, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica, CA
Donna Frye, Surfers Tired of Pollution. San Diego, CA
Tim Eichenberg, Center for Marine Conservation, San Francisco, CA
Armando Nieto, Environmental Defense Center, Santa Barbara, CA
Steve Fleischli, Santa Monica Baykeeper, Santa Monica, CA
Laura Engeman, Santa Barbara, CA
Steve Glazer, High Country Citizens' Alliance, Crested Butte, CO
Margaret Miner, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Collinsville, CT
Nick Carter, Surfrider Foundation, Lewes, DE
Howard Solomon, Outdoor Activities, Jacksonville, FL
Paul Johnson, Reef Relief, Key West, FL
Marion Hilliard, Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., Orange Park, FL
Pam Hansen, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Rochester, IL
Kathy Andria, American Bottom Conservancy, East St. Louis, IL
Kathy Andria, East St. Louis Community Action Network, East St. Louis, IL
Tom Neltner, Improving Kidsí Environment, Indianapolis, IN
DeEtte Huffman, Arkansas River Coalition, Wichita, KS
Judith Peterson, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Munfordville, KY
Nancy Hirschfield, Informed Choices, Slidell, LA
Pam DiBona, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Boston, MA
Janice Graham, Haztrak Coalition, Galena, MD
Al Smith, Friends of the St. Joe River Association, Athens, MI
Judi Brawer, American Wildlands, Bozeman, MT
Marie Curtis, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, Trenton, NJ
David Pringle, New Jersey Environmental Federation, Trenton, NJ
Harold E. Taylor, Pompeston Creek Watershed Association, Cinnaminson, NJ
Joan Koons, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Ship Bottom, NJ
Brian Shields, Amigos Bravos, Taos, NM
Sam Sage, Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Syracuse, NY
Sarah J. Meyland, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Farmingdale, NY
Ira Charles Levenberg-Engel, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Bronx, NY
Jodie Collon, Friends of Spuyten Duyvil, Spuyten Duyvil, NY
The Friends of Marine Park, Gerritsen Creek, Brooklyn, NY
Chuck Rice, North Carolina Wildlife Foundation, Raleigh, NC
Vicki Deisner, Ohio Environmental Council, Columbus, OH
Rich Cogen, Ohio River Advocacy, Blue Ash, OH
Elaine Marsh, Friends of the Crooked River, Akron, OH
Nina Bell, Northwest Environmental Advocates, Portland, OR
Peter Lavigne, Watershed Management Professional Program, Portland State University, Portland, OR
Nelson Ross, Tennessee Izaak Walton League, Dandridge, TN
Jeanne Gramstorff, ACCORD Ag. Inc., Farnsworth, TX
Marilyn Dinger, UT
Arthur Grunbaum, Friends of Grays Harbor, Westport, WA
Jan Conley, Lake Superior Greens, Superior, WI
Kevin Mercer, RiverSides Stewardship Alliance, Toronto, Ontario


	Letter to US Congress on Water Quality Signed by Donna and 55 other environmental activists. February 14, 2001 U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Representative: On behalf of our organizations members, we are writing to encourage you to support federal funding to ensure that we have clean and safe water for everyone in America based on the attached principles and criteria for funding, which will ensure that we do not encourage sprawl, significant noncompliance, or use of antiquated treatment technology. Our nationís wastewater and drinking water systems are aging and many have not been adequately maintained and are now threatening public health and the environment. We need to invest in upgrading and maintaining those systems so that we can keep raw and inadequately treated sewage out of our waterways, streets, and basements; reduce the stormwater pollution that fouls our streams and closes our beaches; and protect, treat, and deliver safe water. The need for maintaining and upgrading wastewater treatment and infrastructure is clear. Pollution from raw sewage discharges and contaminated stormwater discharges impairs our nationís rivers, lakes and coastal waters and threatens public health and aquatic life. Recreational beaches and shellfishing beds are regularly closed due to excessive bacterial contamination associated with wet weather events. During 1999, there were at least 6,000 days of beach closings and advisories, 70 percent of which were based on bacterial contamination from sewage or stormwater discharges (Testing the Waters, at vii (August 2000)). EPA estimates that there are approximately 40,000 discharges of untreated fecal matter in sewer overflows each year. Pathogens from water contaminated with human excrement can cause a wide range of diseases, including gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, and respiratory illness. Stormwater systems also carry toxic contaminants that settle in the muds of bays and rivers and can eventually be introduced into the food chain. If we do not keep sewage and contaminated stormwater out of our streams, the cost of treating water for drinking water purposes will continue to escalate for big cities and small towns. During the past 30 years, we have provided federal dollars to assist cities and states build wastewater treatment plants. EPA estimates the value of that infrastructure investment to be between $1 and 2 trillion. To ensure that our drinking water, lakes, and streams remain safe and that existing plants are effectively used, we need to greatly increase federal investment. However, we should not merely re-build our systems to the standards of the 1970ís. We need to take advantage of innovative approaches that have been developed over the past several decades that allow us to use lot level source control (like rain gardens), stream buffers, conservation practices, and other approaches to prevent pollution so as to reduce the amount of water that needs to receive treatment or filtration before it is safe. Many of the nationís drinking water treatment facilities and distribution systems are too old. Miles of distribution pipes need to be replaced and new treatment systems installed in order to supply safe drinking water to the public. It is becoming increasingly difficult for drinking water suppliers to find source waters that have not been impacted by nitrates, pesticides, pathogens, heavy metals, or volatile organic compounds. Each year, contaminated drinking water causes approximately 7 million cases of waterborne disease, resulting in about 1,200 deaths in the U.S., according to the scientific literature; previous unofficial figures from CDC scientists estimated that there were about 940,000 cases of waterborne disease and nearly 1,000 resulting deaths a year (Morris & Levin, 1995; Bennett et al., 1987). In addition, published studies have estimated that over 10,000 Americans may get cancer per year from just a subset of toxins that contaminate our tap water (Morris et al., 1992). Federal funds to upgrade and maintain drinking water and wastewater infrastructure should be carefully targeted to address the enormous health and environmental threats to current populations. They should not be used to subsidize sprawl development. Invested wisely in this manner, these funds will also benefit the many local economies that depend on clean water ñ protecting and creating many thousands of sorely needed jobs in the process. Protection of public health and the environment must be the overriding goals. We must avoid the temptation to downgrade water quality standards and eliminate designated uses instead of figuring out how to make our water cleaner and safer. We need to invest in approaches that will achieve results, and we need to set our sights on obtaining water that is clean enough for all its uses -- drinking water source, water recreation, wildlife habitat, and aquatic resources. We will strenuously oppose any legislation attempting to lower water quality standards. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you and your staff to craft legislation based on these principles and funding criteria. Thank you for your support for clean and safe water. Sincerely, Nancy Stoner, Natural Resource Defense Council, Washington, DC Paul Schwartz, Clean Water Action, Washington, DC Grant Cope, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Washington, DC Ted Morton, American Oceans Campaign, Washington, DC Betsy Otto, American Rivers, Washington, DC Ed Hopkins, Sierra Club, Washington, DC Gawain Kripke, Friends of the Earth, Washington, DC Tricia Sheets, Cahaba River Society, Birmingham, AL Brad McLane, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Birmingham, AL Kay Friedlander. Alabama Environmental Council, Fairhope, AL Mark Gold, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica, CA Donna Frye, Surfers Tired of Pollution. San Diego, CA Tim Eichenberg, Center for Marine Conservation, San Francisco, CA Armando Nieto, Environmental Defense Center, Santa Barbara, CA Steve Fleischli, Santa Monica Baykeeper, Santa Monica, CA Laura Engeman, Santa Barbara, CA Steve Glazer, High Country Citizens' Alliance, Crested Butte, CO Margaret Miner, Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Collinsville, CT Nick Carter, Surfrider Foundation, Lewes, DE Howard Solomon, Outdoor Activities, Jacksonville, FL Paul Johnson, Reef Relief, Key West, FL Marion Hilliard, Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., Orange Park, FL Pam Hansen, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Rochester, IL Kathy Andria, American Bottom Conservancy, East St. Louis, IL Kathy Andria, East St. Louis Community Action Network, East St. Louis, IL Tom Neltner, Improving Kidsí Environment, Indianapolis, IN DeEtte Huffman, Arkansas River Coalition, Wichita, KS Judith Peterson, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Munfordville, KY Nancy Hirschfield, Informed Choices, Slidell, LA Pam DiBona, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Boston, MA Janice Graham, Haztrak Coalition, Galena, MD Al Smith, Friends of the St. Joe River Association, Athens, MI Judi Brawer, American Wildlands, Bozeman, MT Marie Curtis, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, Trenton, NJ David Pringle, New Jersey Environmental Federation, Trenton, NJ Harold E. Taylor, Pompeston Creek Watershed Association, Cinnaminson, NJ Joan Koons, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Ship Bottom, NJ Brian Shields, Amigos Bravos, Taos, NM Sam Sage, Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Syracuse, NY Sarah J. Meyland, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Farmingdale, NY Ira Charles Levenberg-Engel, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Bronx, NY Jodie Collon, Friends of Spuyten Duyvil, Spuyten Duyvil, NY The Friends of Marine Park, Gerritsen Creek, Brooklyn, NY Chuck Rice, North Carolina Wildlife Foundation, Raleigh, NC Vicki Deisner, Ohio Environmental Council, Columbus, OH Rich Cogen, Ohio River Advocacy, Blue Ash, OH Elaine Marsh, Friends of the Crooked River, Akron, OH Nina Bell, Northwest Environmental Advocates, Portland, OR Peter Lavigne, Watershed Management Professional Program, Portland State University, Portland, OR Nelson Ross, Tennessee Izaak Walton League, Dandridge, TN Jeanne Gramstorff, ACCORD Ag. Inc., Farnsworth, TX Marilyn Dinger, UT Arthur Grunbaum, Friends of Grays Harbor, Westport, WA Jan Conley, Lake Superior Greens, Superior, WI Kevin Mercer, RiverSides Stewardship Alliance, Toronto, Ontario

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