mr. chairman , i rise in strong support of this amendment offered by my colleagues which will prevent the epa from finalizing a policy that may increase the risks of waterborne illness and harm our nation 's waterways . 
thirty-three years after the passage of the clean water act , the epa should not be implementing policies which will allow more sewage into our waterways . 
such a policy could result in water systems with more pathogens , viruses , bacteria and parasites that make people sick , contaminate our drinking water supplies , harm fish and other aquatic life . 
i believe this is a misguided policy . 
the use of secondary biological treatment to remove bacteria and pathogens from sewage has been in place for decades in order to protect the public from waterborne illnesses , and i believe we must preserve these longstanding standards . 
blending waste streams at times other than natural emergencies will result in an unnecessary discharge of harmful contaminants into our waters . 
we have a responsibility to fully treat all wastewater , and the epa 's proposal to bypass the crucial second treatment step and allow more bacteria into our local water sources is just plain wrong . 
we should be focused more on strengthening the federal commitment to water infrastructure , which we all know has been stagnant for many years now . 
i plan soon on reintroducing my bill , the clean water infrastructure financing act , which will authorize funding levels in the clean water state revolving fund which better reflect the considerable depth of our nation 's wastewater infrastructure needs . 
i urge strong support for this amendment because we must invest in effective sewage treatment to help ensure that our constituents are protected from health hazards . 
effective sewage treatment will reduce the risk of waterborne illness and protect public health . 
again , i thank my colleagues mr. stupak , mr. shaw , mr. miller and mr. pallone for offering this important amendment and urge strong support from my colleagues . 
i would also like to thank my colleagues mr. taylor and mr. dicks and their staff for their hard work with the difficult task of putting this bill together . 
