於18日展開的國會聽證會，將針對30年內最重要的法案——淨水法案(Clean Water Act)進行討論。根據美國最高法院新近發布的兩個決議，以及危害聯邦政府保護國內多數的溪流、河流與溼地所做的行政動作，委員會在本周安排了兩場關於淨水法案現況的聽證會。
美國眾議院交通暨基礎建設委員會主席歐柏斯特(James Oberstar)表示，2007年10月將是實行淨水法案的第35周年，這項具代表性的環境條例，建立了國家關於重建並維持國家水資源在化學、物理與生物三方的貢獻。也因此，即使全美人口已增加了近30%，國家水路在水質方面仍呈現了大幅度改善。
歐柏斯特補充，「目前約有3分之1的河流水質未達30年前所制定適於釣魚與游泳的標準，因此還有很大的改善空間。但遺憾的是，美國最高法院所發布的兩項激進條例，限制了淨水法案的權限，因此改善水質的任務將變得更為窒礙難行。」
Congressional hearings began Tuesday on what may be the most important Clean Water Act legislation in 30 years. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee scheduled two committee hearings this week on the current state of the Clean Water Act in light of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions as well as administrative actions that are jeopardizing federal protections for the majority of the nation's streams, rivers, and wetlands.
This October marks the 35th anniversary of the modern Clean Water Act, said Oberstar. "This landmark environmental statute established a national commitment to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. It is the main reason the nation's waterways have shown dramatic improvement in water quality, even as the nation's population has increased by close to 30 percent."
"Yet, even now," he said, "roughly one-third of all waters do not meet the fishable and swimmable standards established over 30 years ago – so there is still work to be accomplished. Unfortunately, this task has been made more difficult by two activist rulings of the United States' Supreme Court that have limited the jurisdictional scope of the Act."
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