Will Supreme Court Cases Muddy the Clean-Water Industry?
Two cases before the Supreme Court challenge the Clean Water Act’s definition of protected waters. The cases question the value of surface water.
Surface water performs such critical functions as recharging groundwater, the source of well water; filtering sediment and preventing pollutants from entering larger water bodies; and feeding streams, rivers, and lakes, which, according to the USEPA, supply 66% of the nation’s drinking water.
Surface water is a serious national concern. A survey recently conducted by Readex Research for Stormwater magazine indicates that local governments and regulated companies will spend more than $21 billion in 2006 on surface-water-quality treatment products and services — a figure that does not include costs related to drinking water or wastewater treatment.
According to Janice Kaspersen, editor of Stormwater magazine, “Wetlands are important both for water quality, because they can remove certain pollutants from surface water, and also for preventing flooding by storing large amounts of surface water during heavy rains. If the definition of protected wetlands becomes more narrowly defined, a significant amount of the nation’s surface water will be put at risk.”
Many construction industry professionals agree. Over 28% of Grading & Excavation Contractor magazine readers will purchase erosion control and stormwater-related equipment, products, and services in 2006 to protect surface-water quality, according to another survey conducted by Readex Research.
Grading & Excavation Contractor Editor John Trotti knows why contractors abide by surface-water protection regulations authorized by the Clean Water Act. “It makes good business sense in the long run to avoid compromising natural resources,” Trotti says. “Nobody likes government regulations, but water is a common good that benefits all of us and is worth protecting. We might be able to clean fresh water once it’s polluted, but it will cost a whole lot more money than if we prevent it from being polluted in the first place.”
About Forester Communications
Established in 1990, Forester Communications produces StormCon, the North American Surface Water Quality Conference and Exposition, and publishes the award-winning trade magazines Stormwater, Erosion Control, MSW Management, Distributed Energy, Grading & Excavation Contractor, Onsite Water Treatment, and Water Efficiency. ForesterPress is the book publishing division. Visit www.forester.net and www.StormCon.com for more information.
CONTACT: Laura Funkhouser 805-682-1300 x139 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=CB0C234CAA205E12
SOURCE: Forester Communications