Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012www.CleanWaterAction.org

FALL ELECTION ISSUE 2012 Chesapeake currents

ACTION FOR CLEAN WATER

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF inside: Virginia Election Activity Heats Up, page 3 Virginia Endorsements, page 3

Maryland Endorsements, page 4 DC: Working on Anacostia Restoration, page 5 How Did Your Reps. and Senators Vote?, pages 6 and 7

The environmental stakes have never been higher than in this year’s elections. The next President and Congress — and the leaders who are elected at the state and local levels this fall — can do much to restore the nation’s commitment to clean air and water and healthy communities. The right leadership can make sure the United States is positioned to reap the full economic and job creation benefits that will come from smart investment in a clean energy and clean water future.

The past two years brought more attacks on fundamental protections than ever before. The U.S. House led the way — backwards — voting more than three hundred times to dismantle the Clean Water Act, weaken clean air protections, strip funding from environmental protection programs, effectively dismantle the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and more. Without the U.S. Senate and veto threats from President Obama to stop these bills from becoming law, the results would have been disastrous.

Too many officials have been carrying the polluters’ agenda and turning their backs on the people they were elected to represent — perhaps thinking they could get away with it. Clean Water Action members like you can make sure that does not happen. You can help hold our elected officials accountable for their actions with your votes this November 6.

This special issue of Clean Water Currents provides information on Clean Water Action’s nonpartisan candidate endorsements for 2012. All endorsements are based on a careful review of the candidates’ records and positions, their responses to questionnaires on key issues, and, in many cases, in-person interviews and recommendations from local and national staff, allies and volunteers.

are you a clean water voter?

Continued on page 2

2 Chesapeake | Fall Election Issue 2012 www.CleanWaterAction.org

Throughout the 2012 campaign season, Clean Water Action:

Educates its members about critical issues.

Provides information on candidates and ballot initiatives before voters.

Spotlights the records and positions of endorsed candidates, with special attention to environmental “heroes” deserving re-election and environmental “zeroes” whose anti-environment records are unacceptably poor.

Mobilizes Clean Water Action voters to make sure they vote for Clean Water Action’s endorsed candidates on election day.

Clean Water Action’s 2011-12 scorecard (see page 6) provides additional detail on U.S. House and Senate voting records for those states where Clean Water Action has the largest numbers of members.

are you a clean water voter?Continued from page 1

Be a Clean Water Voter:LEARN about the candidates’ records and positions, Clean Water Action’s endorsements and any ballot measures before voters this fall.

REGISTER and VOTE for the candidates and positions endorsed byClean Water Action.

DONATE to help Clean Water Action reach and turn out more pro-environment voters to support endorsed candidates and hold others accountable. Donate online at www.CleanWater.org/donate

VOLUNTEER by joining with Clean Water Action staff in your state to make phone calls, distribute literature, and mobilize voters in the days leading up to election day. Contact the office nearest you to volunteer.

PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT:This April, Clean Water Action joined with other national environmental groups in an unprecedent-ed early endorsement of PRESIDENT OBAMA’s

re-election. President Obama’s record in his first term has been stronger than any other in decades, and his leadership has been essential in stopping the train wreck of anti-environ-mental bills moving through Congress. The Romney-Ryan ticket would be an environmental disaster, if elected. Rep. Ryan led the attack on the Clean Water Act and other water and health protections in Congress, and Gov. Romney has committed to an agenda of weakening environ-mental laws and extending special treatment and expanding government subsidies for the nation’s worst polluters.

The stakes are equally high in contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and in many races for state leg-islature, governor’s races and more local offices.

virginia:Endorsements

TIM KAINE for UNITED STATES SENATEClean Water Action has endorsed Tim Kaine of Virginia for the United States Senate. It is the second Clean Water Action endorsement for Kaine. The first was in 2005 when he was the clear environmental choice for Governor. As Governor, Tim Kaine did not disappoint. His four years in office were a time of progress for the protection and restoration of Virginia’s water. During his tenure, Virginia invested more than $1 billion in reduced pollution from sewage treatment plants and developed a comprehensive energy plan to save taxpayer and ratepayer dollars through a forty percent reduction in growth of energy use in the state.

In 2012 Tim Kaine is also far superior to his opponent in this U.S. Senate race. Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. George Allen’s record is dismal. Allen’s environmental voting scores in the Senate were a consistent “zero,” far worse than just a failing grade on the issues Clean Water Action members care about most.

GERRY CONNOLLY for CONGRESS Representing the 11th Congressional DistrictConnolly was a champion of the environment in his years chairing the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He has not disappointed since Clean Water Action first endorsed him for his current U.S. House seat in 2008. In Congress, Connolly has fought efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act and other water and health protections. He has fought for strong protections against harm from hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the natural gas extraction method which threatens communities throughout the United States. Connelly has also introduced energy bills to reduce oil subsidies, hold polluters accountable and close the industry’s unfair tax loophole.

Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012 3

virginia:Election Activity Heats UpClean Water Action has been knocking on doors throughout Northern Virginia. Since June, the goal has been to recruit new members and renew longtime supporters, and then to make sure Clean Water Action members are registered to vote.

All members are urged to turn out and vote for a slate of high priority candidates this November 6. Each is in races with very high environmental stakes for Virginia and for the nation. These include President Barack Obama, Tim Kaine for the U.S. Senate, and Gerry Connolly for the U.S. House (District 11). Clean Water Action’s endorsements followed a rigorous process involving tough looks at the candidates’ records and positions, responses to questionnaires, and in some cases interviews.

These are the candidates Clean Water Action believes are best qualified to lead and fight for clean water, and for environmental, health and community protections. By election day, Clean Water Action will have knocked on more than 40,000 doors in Northern Virginia, sent dozens of e-mails to thousands of members, and hosted weekly phone banks. All this activity is aimed at turning out voters who will support these Clean Water candidates. There’s still time for you to help. Contact Clean Water Action’s Andrew Fellows, afellows@CleanWater.org or 202-895-0420, x102 to sign up as a volunteer or make a special contribution to support this effort. You can also donate online at www.CleanWater.org/donate.

www.CleanWaterAction.org

4 Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012

maryland:2012 Maryland Endorsements go to Incumbent Champions and LeadersClean Water Action is supporting Sen. Ben Cardin and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, Donna Edwards, and Dutch Ruppersberger for re-election. These clean water leaders are outspoken advocates and champions in the fight to defend America’s streams, rivers and bays. Their efforts have been especially important since January 2011, when U.S. House began its extreme anti-environment assaults, with more than three hundred votes to defund, deregulate or eliminate water and health protections. More than thirty-five of those votes sought to dismantle the forty-year-old Clean Water Act.

Clean Water Action's early support for and strong relationship with Rep. Van Hollen helped propel him to Congress in 2002. Since then he has been an environmental champion, serving as the Vice Chairman of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus and Co-Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force. His bipartisan efforts were able to win inclusion of the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative, an innovative program to reduce agricultural pollution, in the 2008 Farm Bill.

With a large portion of his district bordering the Chesapeake Bay, Rep. Ruppersberger has been an important ally and vote for protecting the Bay and our waterways. Mike Gravitz, a Clean Water Action endorsement committee member said, “Congressman

Ruppersberger has secured millions of dollars to improve the Bay’s health, as well as supported restoration of the important menhaden and oyster populations that restore the Bay.”

“In contrast, his opponent, four term state legislator Sen. Nancy Jacobs has tried to block progress on protecting the environment at every turn. She has an 8% lifetime score on the environment, and a 0% score in 2012. Our endorsement choice [for Ruppersberger’s re-election] was easy,” Gravitz says.

Since Clean Water Action helped elect Rep. Edwards to Congress in 2008 she has been an environmental champion and outspoken proponent for protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Bonnie Bick, a Clean Water Action endorsement committee member and Charles County environmental leader said of Edwards, “Donna strongly embraces environmental issues.

She speaks loud and clear about recent attacks and setbacks in environmental policies affecting our water and global climate. In its defense she has introduced, the Green Infrastructure for the Clean Water Act and the Clean Construction Act of 2011.”

Sen. Cardin has been an active leader in the fight to protecting and promoting environmental legislation. Sen. Cardin’s ‘Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Protection Act,’ is considered the most sweeping legislation to restore the health of the Bay since the enactment of the Clean Water Act 40 years ago.

www.CleanWaterAction.org

Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012 5

district of columbia:Working With District Communities on Anacostia RestorationWork with Cub Scout Pack #380 to install a catch basin (storm drain) screen in Southeast DC is among many activities of protecting and restoring the Anacostia throughout its watershed. These efforts also include parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s County in Maryland upstream of the nation’s capital. The catch basin screen, designed and built by the scouts from chicken wire, zip cords and rocks, allows water to pass through but keeps bigger pieces of trash from clogging up the storm drain. The scouts will monitor the screen and track how much refuge it collects. Using this scientific process, according to scout leader Brook Haywood Hack, Pack #380 will soon become the first S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in the DC area.

Anacostia organizer Kevin Jeffery has also organized other neighborhood activities and outreach in many communities whose storm drains flow into the Anacostia. Jeffery’s work found a new fan in the person of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who heard about the efforts from Kevin during a chance meeting at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a well-known U Street eatery.

“Keep up the good work, you’re doing important work,” Jackson said, after Kevin shared stories from his work with residents and activists cleaning up Prince Georges’ County’s Brier’s Mill Run.

Clean Water Action is engaged in water restoration and protection throughout the Anacostia watershed. In the District, Clean Water Action has worked with allies and community residents for clean up of six toxic sites, and to develop local restoration plans in the Pope Branch, Watts Branch, Hickey Run and communities. In those communities, storm drainage systems fail to capture enough rainfall, resulting in sewage spills and overflows that pollute the Anacostia.

www.CleanWaterAction.org

6 Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012

Clean Water Action has spent much of the past two years defending against an all-out assault in Congress. Fundamental environmental and health protections — highly successful laws such as the Clean Water Act — are under attack. How serious is this situation? So far the U.S. House has considered — and actually voted to pass — more than 300 measures that would weaken clean water, clean air and health protection.

Fortunately, the worst of these were turned back in the Senate, with the help of veto threats by President Obama. To help Clean Water Action members and others understand what has been going on, the organization tracks key votes and compiles scorecards. This latest scorecard covers votes from 2011-12. Members of Congress who have sided with the pollut-ers and against protecting water and health must be held accountable. This November’s elections provide some excellent oppor-tunities for doing so.

With so many Representatives and Senators from this region scoring highly, the few exceptions (those scoring worse than 50%) really stand out for the extreme nature of their anti-environment votes.

SCORECARD: Clean Water Action tallied twelve U.S. House and eight U.S. Senate votes for each Represen-tative and Senator. To earn a perfect “100”, a U.S. Representative would need to have voted “No” on all but one of the scored anti-environment measures and “Yes” on the one clean water proposal in the scorecard; in the Senate two “Yes” votes and six “No’s” were required. As summarized here, one of the two positive

Senate votes passed, and the other failed narrowly.

Detailed breakdowns of Senators’ and Representatives’ votes are available at www.cleanwater.org/scorecard

How Did Your Representatives and Senators Vote?

representatives (by District)1 Wittman (R) 17%2 Rigell (R) 8%3 Scott, R. (D) 100%4 Forbes (R) 8%5 Hurt (R) 0%6 Goodlatte (R)] 0%7 Cantor (R) 0%8 Moran, James (D) 100%

9 Griffith (R) 0%10 Wolf (R) 25%11 Connolly (D) 100% senators:Mark Warner (D) 88%Jim Webb (D) 63%

representatives (by District)1 Harris (R) 0%2 Ruppersberger (D) 100%3 Sarbanes (D) 100%4 Edwards, D. (D) 100%5 Hoyer (D) 100%6 Bartlett (R) 0%

7 Cummings (D) 100%8 Van Hollen (D) 100% senators:Benjamin L. Cardin (D) 100%Barbara A. Mikulski (D) 100%

maryland % pro-environment votes

virginia % pro-environment votes

www.CleanWaterAction.org

Chesapeake Currents | Fall Election Issue 2012 7

key u.s. house votes in the fight to protect water and healthFederal Budget for 2011 (H.R. 1): The final House budget (con-tinuing appropriations bill, FY2011) included devastating cuts to programs that protect clean water and clean air, plus numerous amendments (“riders”) that would roll back protections even further. [February 19, 2011: passed 235-189]

Dirty Water Act (H.R. 2018, Clean Water Cooperative Fed-eralism Act): This direct attack on the Clean Water Act would effectively gut the current law by undermining the federal govern-ment’s responsibility for keeping water safe for drinking, fishing and swimming [July 13, 2011; passed 239-184]

Clean Water Protections (Moran amendment 1175): This pro-environment amendment championed by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) would strike provisions from H.R. 5325 (Energy & Water Appropriations, FY2013) aimed at blocking federal agencies from restoring Clean Water Act protections for wetlands, streams and critical water resources. [June 1, 2012; defeated 152-237]

Greenhouse Gas Pollution (H.R. 910, Energy and Tax Pre-vention Act): Would permanently block Clean Air Act controls on greenhouse gases and would “repeal” EPA’s science-based finding that this pollution endangers public health and the environment. [April 7, 2011; passed 255-172]

Attack on Clean Air (H.R. 2401, Transparency in Regula-tory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation or TRAIN Act): Would delay EPA rules on mercury and other toxic emissions along with other smog-causing power plant pollution. Would tie up new Clean Air Act standards with unneeded studies in which only costs, but not benefits, could be considered. [September 23, 2011; passed 249-169]

Cement Plant Pollution (H.R. 2681, Cement Sector Regula-tory Relief Act): Would nullify final EPA toxics reduction rules for cement kilns, a major source of mercury contamination in water. [October 6, 2011; passed 262-161]

Attack on Public Safeguards (H.R. 10, Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny or REINS Act): Intended to pre-vent adoption of any new public safeguards by requiring a Congres-sional approval within 70 legislative days of Administrative action. New or proposed rules on air and water quality, food, workplace and consumer product safety would all be stopped, placing Ameri-cans’ health and safety at risk. [December 7, 2011; passed 241-184]

Blocking Environmental & Health Protections (H.R. 3010, Regulatory Accountability Act): Would create significant new hurdles for public health and environmental protection regulations by requiring agencies to choose “least costly” rather than “most pro-tective” standards. [December 2, 2011; passed 253-167]

Coal Ash Pollution (H.R. 2273, Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act): Would bar EPA from regulating coal ash laden with arsenic, lead and other toxic heavy metals as a hazard-ous waste. Would not even require minimum state standards to protect communities from coal ash spill disasters. [October 14, 2011; passed 267-144]

Coal Ash Pollution (H.R. 4348): This “motion to instruct” pro-cedural vote required House conference committee members to in-clude H.R. 2273 (above) in the final, must-pass Transportation Bill package. [June 21, 2012; passed 260-138]

Toxic Air Pollution (H.R. 2250, EPA Regulatory Relief Act): Would indefinitely delay air pollution standards for industrial boil-ers and incinerators, which emit neurotoxic mercury, cancer-caus-ing dioxins and other toxic air pollution. [October 13, 2011; passed 275-142]

Regulatory Shutdown (H.R. 4078, Red Tape Reduction & Small Business Job Creation Act): Would freeze any “signifi-cant regulatory action” by federal agencies until the unemployment rate is at or below 6%, preventing action on essential environmental and health protections and associated economic benefits. [July 26, 2012; passed 245-172]

key u.s. senate votes in the fight to protect water and healthFederal Budget for 2011 (H.R. 1): The final House budget (con-tinuing appropriations bill, FY2011) included devastating cuts to programs that protect clean water and clean air, plus numerous amendments (“riders”) that would roll back protections even further. [March 9, 2011; defeated 56-44]

Greenhouse Gas Pollution (Amendment No.183 on S. 493): Amendment by Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to “repeal” EPA’s science-based finding that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health and the environment. Bill would perma-nently block Clean Air Act controls on this pollution and weaken fuel economy standards. [April 6, 2011; defeated 50-50]

Attack on Clean Air (Senate Joint Resolution 27): Resolution by Sen. Rand Paul (R- KY) would void EPA’s July 2011 Cross-State Pollution rule, blocking requirements that power plants reduce air pollution that travels across state lines. [November 11, 2011; de-feated 56-41]

Attack on Clean Air Protections (Senate Joint Resolution 37): Resolution by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) would overturn EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which require reductions in heavy metals and toxics from fossil-fuel burning power plants. [June 20, 2012; defeated 53-46]

Factory Farm Pollution (Johanns Amendment No. 2372): Would effectively block Clean Water Act enforcement against fac-tory farms by prohibiting EPA from using aircraft to inspect in-dustrial livestock operations for animal waste pollution violations. [June 21, 2012; defeated 56-43]

Gulf Coast Restoration and Land & Water Conservation Funding (Nelson Amendment No. 1822): Would provide fund-ing for natural resource restoration in Gulf Coast states and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. [March 8, 2012; passed 76-22]

Big Oil Tax Subsidies (S. 2204, Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act): Would eliminate taxpayer handouts for this industry, which is reaping record profits; would instead promote renewable energy and energy conservation. [March 29, 2012; defeated 51-47]

Keystone XL Pipeline (Hoeven Amendment No. 1537): Would fast-track approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, bypassing required environmental and siting reviews. [March 8, 2012; defeated 56-42]

www.CleanWaterAction.org

Chesapeake CurrentsFALL ELECTION ISSUE 2012

Clean Water Action is a national citizens’ organization working for clean, safe and affordable water, prevention of health-threatening pollution, creation of environmentally-safe jobs and businesses, and empowerment of people to make democracy work.

Clean Water Action organizes strong grassroots groups, coalitions and campaigns to protect our environment, health, economic well-being and community quality of life.

Managing Editor: Jonathan ScottPresident and CEO: Robert WendelgassWriters: Andrew Fellows, Andy GalliDesign: ES Design

Reproduction in whole or part is permitted with proper credit.© Copyright 2012 All rights reserved.

National: 1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005-4918 | Phone 202.895.0420 | Fax 202.895.0438 | cwa@cleanwater.org

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