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| **boywundr2002@yahoo.com** | +---+-------------------------------+   |
|                            | | T | > CWAwaters@EPA               |   |
| 01/17/2008 02:37 PM        | | o |                               |   |
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|                            | | S | > Protect All American        |   |
|                            | | u | > Waters: Revise Clean Water  |   |
|                            | | b | > Act Guidance, Docket #:     |   |
|                            | | j | > EPA - HQ - OW - 2007 - 0282 |   |
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Dear Environmental Protection Agency,

An old poem contains the line, \"Water, water everywhere, but

not a drop to drink.\" It could well have been written about the

polluted streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans of our modern world,

which contains enormous supplies of water \-\-- the very staff of

life itself \-\-- which is too badly contaminated to be of any use

in preserving and maintaining our lives. What are we going to do

about our polluted waters? Clearly, this is a question to which

we must find the correct answer, and apply it thusly with haste.

I am writing to urge the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to

revise their June 2007 guidance to protect America\'s waters from

pollution and destruction.

In its current form, the guidance leaves many waters, including

wetlands, open for destruction; leaves many tributary streams

without clear protection; and ignores legal tools the agencies

could use to preserve streams and wetlands even when they

collectively are important to water quality.

The guidance affects 20 million acres of wetlands and nearly 2

million miles of streams that do not flow year-round. Even in

the case of water bodies that provide drinking water, flood

control, or recreation, the guidance as written creates a

resource-intensive, confusing, and subjective process to show

that the particular water body is \"significant\" enough to

warrant protection.

I am also sending this letter to my U.S. Senators and

Representative so that they are aware of my concerns about the

guidance, and to urge them to pass legislation to reaffirm and

restore protections for all waters under the Clean Water Act.

Please protect clean water: revise the guidance so that it

protects all of America\'s waters to the maximum extent allowable

by law.

Sincerely,

Eric Gilmartin

1402 Bois D\'Arc Street

Commerce, TX 75428-2526

cc:

Senator Kay Hutchison

Representative Ralph Hall

Senator John Cornyn