Lauren Lurkins joined USEPA officials at the Clean Water Act (CWA) 50th anniversary event
On Tuesday of last week, Lauren Lurkins joined USEPA officials and an audience of 200 people for an event documenting the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The event was held in Cleveland, on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Cuyahoga is best known best for repeatedly catching on fire over 50 year ago, leading to the passage of the CWA. Speakers at the event including USEPA Administrator Michael Regan, USEPA Assistant Administrator of Water Radhika Fox, US Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, Assistant Secretary of the Army Michael Connor, and White House Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory, among others.
Speakers at the event touted the regulatory framework of the CWA for the progress made thus far in our nation’s rivers, and also pointed to the partnerships that exist across the country that bring “life to the CWA.” In addition, accolades were given to the Biden Administration for its work on addressing PFAS (the forever chemical), passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those investments were what speakers pointed to regarding what would guide the next fifty years of the CWA. In addition, USEPA was pushed to continue to “hold polluters accountable” and “become more effective in communities the CWA has not yet reached.” Finally, the future work of USEPA was tied to the Biden Administration’s priorities of climate change and environmental justice.
Overall, although the crowd included various perspectives from stakeholders as to the correct policy approach to improve water quality in our nation, it was good for agriculture to be part of the event. Agriculture must remain involved in the discussion about how far we have come, and how far we all have to go on cleaning up our nation’s waters.
As an aside, one of the speakers during the event spoke to the power of grassroots advocacy and associations. She said the “power is in the association, not the one person representing the entity here today.” To further make her point, she said “Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. But, most of the world sits wonders – what just happened!?” IFB is proud to represent its members in all sorts of issues – environmental included – so we are not all left wondering or watching what other people make happen.