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The Pueblo of Sandia officially and publicly announces its support for U.S. House Resolution 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007.

The pueblo supports the original intent of the Clean Water Act - to protect and restore clean water throughout the United States.

The pueblo has upheld these values since time immemorial. Water is one of the most esteemed and sacred of resources to the tribe.

The pueblo firmly endorses the proposed act, because it will help to ensure clean water for the pueblo, New Mexico and the nation - now and for future generations.

The Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 will reaffirm the original mission of the Clean Water Act and ensure that our waters will remain protected. This bill would restore Clean Water Act safeguards to numerous water bodies that recently have been in legal limbo and are frequently left unprotected by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.

This bipartisan bill was introduced on May 17 by Rep. James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat; Rep. Vernon Ehlers, a Michigan Republican; and Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, along with 158 additional members of Congress.

The legislation does not seek to create any new regulatory requirements. It applies to the same water bodies that have been protected by the EPA's and the Corps of Engineers' rules for decades. It would simply adopt the existing 25-year-old regulatory definition of "waters of the United States," providing essential protections for waters that are put at risk by any adverse court ruling.

The Pueblo of Sandia has been granted "treatment as a state" status by the EPA, enabling us to monitor and enforce our own water-quality standards on pueblo lands, including the ability to challenge off-reservation activities and pollution sources that may contribute to polluting waters that run onto pueblo lands.

Water is the most sacred, life-giving resource, and the Pueblo of Sandia places a high priority on its protection.

By enacting this bill, Congress will reaffirm the standards that will enable the Pueblo of Sandia to protect this sacred resource to the level of quality we believe is necessary.

The Pueblo of Sandia stands behind this very important bill that will maintain the ability of the pueblo, the EPA, the Corps of Engineers and the state of New Mexico to fully protect all waters of importance to the pueblo and the public.