Sept. 19, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in reaction to President Donald Trump calling on the EPA to take Clean Water Act action against west coast cities that put human waste into natural waterways:
“In March of 2018, San Diego County, California cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista sued the International Boundary & Water Commission-United States Section and Veolia Water North America West over the ‘devastating pollution discharges’ from the Tijuana River. Last night, President Trump stated that he anticipated that the United States Environmental Protection Agency will take action against San Francisco and potentially, Los Angeles, which have exacerbated a homeless problem to such an extent that they are polluting the Pacific Ocean with drug needles and raw human waste.
“While some might laugh at the notion that the washing of raw human waste into the San Francisco Bay should be cited by the EPA, the truth is that the effects can be catastrophic. Just last year in Seattle, Washington (which should be in line for EPA sanction as well), opioids were found in mussels pulled from the Puget Sound. Mussels, which filter sediment for nutrition, became contaminated due to the washing to raw human waste from a drug addicted homeless population directly into the Sound.
“It is beyond ironic that the far-left urban policies of cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle are creating an environmental disaster for the coastal sea life which these same politicians claim to revere. An EPA lawsuit holding these eco-socialist elites to the same standards which they would hold a private company should create an existential values clash on the left coast. And hopefully, they will become ‘woke’ to the reality that their urban policies fail to serve any of their purported values.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.
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