I wrote to Representative Nancy Pelosi about my concern for water as it relates to security. Here is part of her reply:

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, amended in 1977, and commonly known as the Clean Water Act, established regulations for the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States. The act initiated pollution control programs and set water quality standards for contaminants in surface waters. In the three decades since the establishment of the Clean Water Act, court rulings and agency interpretations of federal regulation have reduced the protections afforded to our drinking waters and wetlands intended by the original Clean Water Act. HR 2421 would restore the original intent of the Clean Water Act by amending the Act’s definition of “waters of the United States” to include “intrastate” and “intermittent” water bodies, which would then extend protections to all of our nation’s waters and wetlands.

Regulations to protect the health and welfare of citizens are obviously a non-trivial responsibility. Like patching vulnerable software, I hope these changes to the words will enable better controls over pollution. I also hope more support for clean water and awareness emerges in order to push back on the notion that corporations can pollute without accountability.