U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold D-Wisconsin has introduced and is promoting a Clean Water Restoration Act, legislation he says will re-establish federal protections for wetlands that were undermined by recent Supreme Court decisions, but his critics say the proposal represents an unprecedented expansion of federal regulatory power.
To Feingold, the bill would restore the intent of the 1972 Clean Water Act, which gave the federal government jurisdiction to regulate and protect the navigable waters of the United States, including connected water bodies and adjacent wetlands.
Two Supreme Court decisions narrowed the scope of what water bodies could be regulated under the Act, however. Feingold proposes fixing that by removing the word navigable from the Clean Water Act, thereby giving the federal government jurisdiction over all waters of the United States.
Feingolds clean water bill swims into strong currents of opposition
