Congress passed the Clean Water Act three decades ago to make the nation's waters safe for people and wildlife. Now this landmark legislation is under attack on several fronts.

THE ENDANGERED CLEAN WATER ACT While the Bush Administration consistently erodes the regulations of the Clean Water Act, a federal court added to this by getting a reversal that allows coal mining companies to dump tons of leftover rock and waste into nearby streams, wetlands, and other waters. Last May, for example, a district court in West Virginia ruled in favor of a group which sought to overturn a coal corporation's permit to dump coal mining waste in more than six miles of streams and at the heads of 27 valleys. A district judge ruled that such dumping violated the Clean Water Act and blocked the issuing of new permits. On January 29, 2003, however, the appeals court overturned this ruling after mining officials and the Bush Administration appealed.

This is a major setback not only to the Clean Water Act but to the people and wildlife who rely on the streams and wetlands not to be destroyed. The Clean Water Act was enacted to help protect, not destroy, our nation's waters.