Remarks for the Clean Water Act 50th Anniversary, As Prepared for Delivery
Michael Regan
Cuyahoga River,Ohio
Thank you, Radhika, for that introduction and for your leadership. Radhika often says “this is water’s moment” – and the EPA is fortunate to have you as our Assistant Administrator during this transformative moment in our nation’s water future.
Mayor Bibb, thank you for hosting us here in Cleveland. It’s wonderful to see you.
Congresswoman Dingell, it’s a pleasure to be with you on this historic day. Thank you for your tireless commitment to clean water progress.
Chair Mallory, Assistant Secretary Conor thank you both for joining us today and for your partnership.
It’s great to be here with all of you and to be back in Cleveland, Ohio – a city and a people whose past and present are intimately bound to the environmental movement.
As EPA Administrator, I have the privilege to travel quite a bit and to spend time with people on their front porches, in their churches, and along the banks of rivers, lakes, and streams that have shaped so many American communities… much like the one right behind us.
Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit such a place… a little town called Goldsboro in eastern North Carolina, which just so happens to be where I was born and raised.
I was there to celebrate the 2022 “River of the Year.” Now, being a proud North Carolinian, I can be a bit competitive… I understand the Cuyahoga was selected as the River of the Year three years ago.
But this year, the good old Neuse River took home the trophy. The Neuse, one of the oldest rivers in the United States, is near and dear to me. It may not be as widely recognized as the Cuyahoga, but it is no less a community treasure.
It’s one of the places that ignited my passion for the outdoors and environmental stewardship.
When I was in high school, I was a member of a youth group called Serteen. The mission of our organization was to encourage young folks to engage in public service. We would volunteer and deliver food to those in need—and, most importantly, it would keep us out of trouble!
One of my favorites memories was a camping trip we took to the Neuse River. I need you to imagine this—a group of high schoolers who could have been doing anything with our free time, gathered alongside the river to fish, have fun, enjoy the outdoors… and plan our next volunteer opportunities. This is a true story!
For so many, that’s exactly what rivers like Neuse provide—a home away from home. Peace and tranquility outside of the city. Rivers and streams across this country provide an opportunity for education, cultural connections, and recreation while existing as magnificent natural resources central to the cities and towns who depend on them.
That’s why our work to preserve and protect and invest in these waters for the next generation is so vital.
There was a time not long ago that our waters were overridden with pollution. Rivers were covered in oil slicks and caught fire, bays couldn’t support fishing, and children were often forbidden from playing along riverbanks.
Of course, there are few places in America that better capture this history than the Cuyahoga River, and there are few places better suited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passage of one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation in U.S. history—the Clean Water Act.
The Cuyahoga River was one of the major catalysts for the environmental movement and captured the attention of Americans near and far.
Like too many waterways across the country in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the Cuyahoga River had fallen victim to years of unchecked pollution. I’m talking about the days when our rivers were treated as nothing more than dumping grounds for sewage and industrial waste.
Throughout this period, the Cuyahoga River had caught on fire so many times that people just came to expect each new blaze – they barely bat an eye!
An article in Time Magazine described the Cuyahoga as the river that “oozes rather than flows.”
It wasn’t until 1969, when Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes, the first Black man to serve as mayor of a major American city, helped turn the tide by pushing Congress to take action. He joined a growing chorus of Americans who were beginning to advocate for the protection rather than the exploitation of our environment.
A few years later, in 1972 – just two years after the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency – Congress passed the Clean Water Act.
In the years since, the Clean Water Act has played a transformational role in protecting people’s health and safeguarding our natural resources for the enjoyment of future generations.
From establishing legal policy to driving technological innovation, the Clean Water Act has led to standards, regulations, and protections for waterways across this country. And combined with other key initiatives, the Clean Water Act has helped reduce pollution and clean up rivers throughout the United States – from the Cuyahoga to the Neuse.
While we’ve come a long way in the past 50 years – in the time since rivers would spontaneously catch on fire – we still have a lot more work to do.
I’ve traveled across the country and seen firsthand the effects that years of neglect and underinvestment have had on our Nation’s waters, water systems, and on the people who rely on them.
Many presidents have tried to pass legislation to address these longstanding and pervasive issues. We can all recall infrastructure plan after infrastructure plan.
But President Biden got it done.
Thanks to the President’s leadership, along with the support of our congressional partners like Congresswoman Dingell, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the linchpin to the next 50 years of water progress in America.
The infrastructure law makes the single-largest investment in water infrastructure in U.S. history – over $50 billion – billion with a ‘B’ – to replace lead pipes, tackle emerging contaminants like PFAS, build drinking water and wastewater systems resilient to the climate crisis, and protect and restore treasured national waters through our Geographic Programs and National Estuary Program.
We know that investing in water infrastructure is one of the single best investments we can make—not only to protect public health and safeguard the environment, but to stimulate local job creation while laying a strong foundation for economic vitality.
In 2022 alone, Ohio is set to receive more than $240 million – and there will be more funding to come over the next five years. This year’s investment is expected to create roughly 3,700 jobs, good-paying jobs like pipe fitters, plumbers, and construction laborers across our state.
Delivering on the promises of the infrastructure law means more than passing multi-billion-dollar legislation.
It means working closely with governors and local leaders to ensure these historic resources reach the places and people who need them most.
It means making sure everyone has a seat at the table—especially communities who’ve historically failed to have their voices heard and concerns addressed.
It means ensuring that solutions aren’t developed from the top down, but from the bottom up.
Because although we’ve come a long way, there are still families in Lowndes County, Alabama, who live with the ever-present threat of raw sewage entering their homes.
There are children in Jackson, Mississippi, who are still suffering from the culmination of decades of neglected water infrastructure.
There are businesses and homes in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee that are still working to eradicate lead pipes.
Stories like these exist in every corner of this country. But the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, along with the unprecedented resources from the Inflation Reduction Act, are changing that.
And this Administration is changing that by prioritizing justice and equity in every decision we make and every dollar we spend – because all people in this country, no matter the color of their skin, the community they live in, or the money in their pocket, deserve the opportunity to lead a healthy life.
That opportunity begins and ends with clean air to breathe and clean water to drink – and no child, no person in America should be denied either of these fundamental rights.
Some of my best memories from childhood involve playing outdoors and fishing in rivers and streams—the freedom to play, the freedom to live without thinking twice about the pollution in the water we depend on, is a freedom every child deserves. It’s our responsibility to make sure every child has that freedom.
The Biden-Harris Administration has taken critical steps to translate our commitment into action, and at the EPA, we are keeping our shoulder to the wheel.
I’m hopeful we can build on our progress over the next 50 years, because we have the tools, and now, we finally have resources to write our future differently.
I know that we can, and together, I know that we will.
Thank you.