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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Bill Would Restore Clean Water Protections

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Friday, April 3, 2009   

Duluth, MN – Minnesota's federal lawmakers are sponsoring a new law that would restore protections to waterways previously covered under the federal Clean Water Act. Supporters say the law is necessary because several Supreme Court rulings have weakened the Clean Water Act, threatening the nation’s water supply and impacting wildlife, recreation, agriculture and flood control.

David Zentner, current member and former president of the Izaak Walton League in Minnesota, says the proposed legislation addresses smaller waters, which are "non-contiguous," or isolated, or may be seasonal. They had been covered by the Act, but Supreme Count rulings have put their status in doubt. However, Zentner believes they shouldn’t be treated any differently.

"The wildlife legacy, the opportunity to reduce flooding, the opportunities for outdoor recreation, are dependent on all of our systems. Particularly important are these small wetlands."

All Minnesotans have a stake in protecting all the state’s waters, adds Zentner.

"Clean water, safe water, for recreation, for drinking purposes, for business and industry, is an investment that all Minnesotans understand."

The bill, called the Clean Water Restoration Act, is sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc), while Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn) is planning to introduce similar legislation in the House.

Supporters of the new bill say the court rulings undermined years of protections and are jeopardizing the drinking water of millions of Americans. The measure has widespread backing, ranging from governors and attorneys general to farming and recreation groups. But, it also has opponents, who argue the lands are less useful than portrayed and call the legislation just more needless, expensive over-regulation.

The Supreme Court rulings are Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corp of Engineers (2001) and Rapanos v. United States (2006).






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