Look out, Clean Water Act

HR 2018 has passed in the House of Representatives (7/13/11)--keep an eye on this one. Put forward by Rep. John Mica (R) of Florida, the bill seeks "[t]o amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to preserve the authority of each State to make determinations relating to the State's water quality standards, and for other purposes." In short, HR 2018 seeks to reduce federal authority over water quality regulation (as laid out in the Clean Water Act) in favor of state control. Here's hoping the Senate does its job to curtail this assault on minimal national standards for water quality.