--contributed by MeaghanO

In a recent article in the Associated Press, John Flesher details the lack of government funding for clean water initiatives. While the local governments pull more than their fair share of the load, the U.S. and Canadian national governments are reluctant to match these numbers, according to Flesher. In fact, President Bush’s proposed fiscal budget for 2009 would cut national spending for Great Lakes water maintenance by 16 percent from 2008.

In the fight for clean water, the national government is arguably the most important vehicle in steering the nation’s consciousness. Local governments can speak for their own constituencies, but until clean water becomes an issue on the national stage, little can be done to make drastic reform to water cleanliness. Water cleanup and maintenance is an issue that cannot be financed by local governments alone. The assistance of the national government is not only ideal, it is necessary.

In the past, the U.S. national government has acted to create legislature aimed at cleaning up the nation’s waterways, though more often than not, there has been little done to enforce these laws. The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, resulted in immediate action to clean the waterways. It mandated that any group must obtain a government-issued permit before the release of pollution into a waterway. Besides these point-source pollution limitations, the act also limited pollution from non-point sources, specifically targeting runoff from agricultural farming. Another piece of legislation, passed in 1987 further limited pollution from non-point sources. Known as the Water Quality Act, it gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a grant for research on non-point pollution controls. Similarly, the Clean Water Act put power in the hands of the EPA to ensure that this legislation was properly enforced. Yet today, for the first time since the enactment of these acts, the water quality in the United States has begun to decline.

While pollution from point-sources still remains lower than it was before the passage of the act, the pollution from non-point sources has begun to increase in recent years. Runoff from industrial farming systems has greatly increased, as farming has turned away from sustainable practices. The result is that waste from these farms often finds its way into the drinking water supplies of many U.S. communities. And the result is that the local communities are left with a problem that far overreaches the limitations of their water cleanup budget. People are left with water that makes them sick, and a national government that is unwilling to step in and stop this from happening.

In terms of water cleanup, the local governments bear the vast majority of the burden. Yet what is being overlooked is that it is not just a local problem. The legislation forbidding the pollution of these waterways exists on a national level. So to require that local government pay for the majority of the cleanup is missing the point. This problem is a national one and the solution should be the result of a collective effort of the whole, and not just individual or local efforts. The national government has enacted the Clean Water Act and the Water Quality Act, and it should certainly be responsible for enforcing its own legislation.

This would certainly include a large national budget for water cleanup. But the nation’s efforts should not be limited to water cleanup. The laws preventing the pollution from reaching these waterways are already in place. The government simply has to be responsible for enforcing these laws. Both the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Water Quality Act of 1987 limited pollution from point and non point sources. Yet the quality of U.S. water is continuing to decline because of failure to adhere to these laws. The legislation exists to stop this from happening, and the government must do its part by enforcing these laws. A renewed commitment to halting pollution, as well as a proposed national budget to clean up the waterways should be a priority on the national agenda.

Flesher, John. "Local Governments Pay $15 Billion in Lakes Costs." The Associated Press. 4 Mar. 2008 <http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802290729>.
Kerry, John, and Teresa Heinz Kerry. This Moment on Earth. New York: Public Affairs, 2007, p. 89.