We are not going to bring these waterways back simply by apply- 

 ing technology. We have to raise the environmental consciousness 

 in these areas, and we have seen as we look at the Anacostia River, 

 how easy that is with just a little bit of help from the government. 



What we have had in the Anacostia is here and there, this and 

 that, and a wonderful cooperation in the region, but it has not been 

 systematic enough to make you think that you are in fact cleaning 

 the river. You do not have that sense. 



My bill also has environmental justice objectives. For example, 

 the Anacostia runs through areas that are slum areas virtually in 

 the District of Columbia, as well as through beautiful areas of the 

 District of Columbia and beautiful suburban areas in the State of 

 Maryland. But it is, of course, not coincidental that the areas in the 

 District that have seen toxic dumping also are the areas where the 

 river has gotten more than its fair share of dumping. 



Mr. Chairman, the waterways I am talking about have it all. 

 They have the raw sewage, they have every conceivable kind of 

 runoff, they have man-made dumping, and yet these are the work- 

 horse waterways of America. In many cases, they are the water- 

 ways that built the great cities and urban areas. I hope we will not 

 allow them to sink into eyesores or stink holes, as some of them 

 are becoming. 



My bill is both a freestanding bill, and in an abbreviated form, 

 it is now included in the Public Works and Transportation version 

 of the Clean Water Act, assuming we ever get that act through. I 

 ask you to report it out in both forms, and I very much appreciate 

 your early look at and consideration of this bill. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Studds. Thank you, very much. I really appreciate it. It is 

 a focus that we could use a lot more of. 



[The statement of Ms. Norton follows:] 



Statement of Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a U.S. Representative from the 



District of Columbia 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Subcommittee 

 to testify on H.R. 3873, the Urban Watershed Restoration Act. I also want to thank 

 Chairman Studds and Congresswomen Unsoeld and Furse for co-sponsoring H.R. 

 3873. I have also co-sponsored H.R. 4289, Congresswoman Furse's Waterways Res- 

 toration Act, which has some features that are similar to those in my bill. 



The Urban Watershed Restoration Act is the culmination of a year of work and 

 consultation. This badly-needed legislation will provide local governments and citi- 

 zen groups working together with the means and with a citizen-centered methodol- 

 ogy to revitalize the waters in urban areas. To date, H.R. 3873 has been co-spon- 

 sored by 42 Members of Congress and endorsed by a variety of environmental 

 groups — among them American Rivers, The Natural Resources Defense Council, the 

 National Wildlife Federation, and the Anacostia Watershed Society— as well as by 

 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National 

 Association of Service and Conservation Corps. 



In summary, the Urban Watershed Restoration Act contains the following provi- 

 sions: 



1. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will establish an Urban Water- 

 shed Restoration Grants Program within §319 of the Clean Water Act, the non- 

 point source program, 



2. A minimum of 25% of annually appropriated §319 funding will be dedicated 

 to the Urban Watershed Program, 



3. The EPA will encourage those States which have demonstrated successful 

 urban rivers restoration programs to administer the program. For other States, 

 the EPA will administer the program daily, 



