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"Today, 40 percent of the nation's waters are still too polluted for fishing and swimming. That is unacceptable. Every child deserves to grow up with water that is pure to drink, lakes that are safe for swimming, rivers that are teeming with fish. We must act now to give all our children the gift of clean , clear water in the 21st century." Today, President Clinton announces a Clean Water Action Plan to restore and protect America's waters. To carry out the initiative, the President's budget proposes $568 million in new resources in Fiscal Year 1999 -- a 35 percent increase -- and a total increase of $2.3 billion over five years. The President also is challenging Congress to join him in strengthening and reauthorizing the Clean Water Act. We have made tremendous strides in cleaning up our rivers, lakes and coastal waters, largely by controlling pollution from factories and sewage plants. Yet 40 percent of our surveyed waterways are still too polluted for fishing and swimming. The largest remaining challenge is reducing "nonpoint" pollution: runoff from farms, city streets and other sources. Twenty-five years after enactment of the Clean Water Act, the President is launching the Clean Water Action Plan to fulfill its promise -- clean, healthy water for all Americans A Second Generation of Clean Water Protection. The Action Plan aims to protect public health and restore our precious waterways by setting strong goals and providing states, communities and landowners the tools and resources to meet them. It charts a new course emphasizing collaborative strategies built around watersheds and the communities they sustain. Clean Water, Healthy Communities. The Action Plan supports efforts by states and communities to prevent the contamination of beaches, fish and drinking water sources. It will reduce polluted runoff, increase wetlands and protect coastal waters from outbreaks of harmful organisms like Pfiesteria and alarming conditions like the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. Incentives for Conservation. To promote private conservation efforts, the Action Plan provides increased incentives to farmers and other landowners to adopt practices that protect water quality. For instance, it expands Department of Agriculture programs that compensate farmers for creating protective forest and grassland buffers along rivers and streams. Community-Based Planning. Water quality is best protected by looking at the entire watershed -- all the land, from forest to farm to urban neighborhood, that contributes runoff to a river system. The Action Plan encourages states and communities to work with the public and all affected stakeholders to identify priorities and the most cost-effective cleanup strategies.
President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore |
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