1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

Re: Oppose HR 3898 (PERMIT Act)—Protect North Carolina's Aquifers and My Family's Drinking Water Dear Senator [Name], I am writing as a North Carolina homeowner who depends on a private well for my household's drinking water. My family relies on the aquifers beneath our land—aquifers that are recharged and protected by North Carolina's wetlands and streams. I am urging you to oppose HR 3898, the "PERMIT Act," which would devastate the wetland systems that sustain our groundwater and threaten the safety of my family's drinking water supply. This bill would destroy the wetlands that recharge my aquifer. North Carolina's Carolina Bays, pocosins, mountain bogs, and isolated wetlands are not distant environmental abstractions—they are the natural filtration and recharge systems that keep my well water clean and sustainable. These wetlands absorb rainfall, filter it naturally through soil and vegetation, and deliver clean water to the aquifers below. HR 3898 would strip federal protection from these critical ecosystems, leaving them vulnerable to pollution and destruction. North Carolina has no backup protections. In 2023, our state tied its wetland protections directly to the federal WOTUS standard—meaning if the federal definition narrows, North Carolina cannot step in to fill the gap. My family would have no protection, either state or federal, for the wetlands that sustain my well. Intermittent and seasonal streams feed my aquifer. Headwater streams and rain-dependent streams throughout North Carolina—the ones HR 3898 would leave unprotected—are essential for groundwater recharge. When these streams lose protection, pollution seeps into the aquifer system that supplies my household water. A single agricultural chemical spill, industrial discharge, or contamination event in an unprotected stream could render my well unsafe. The bill inverts public health priorities. HR 3898 allows EPA officials to permit pollution based on cleanup costs rather than public health and science. It extends discharge permits from 5 to 10 years, meaning a polluter could contaminate my aquifer for a decade without meaningful oversight. It strips North Carolina's ability to protect its own groundwater from out-of-state or upstream pollution. It even protects polluters from liability for failing to report known harmful contaminants in wastewater. This is personal for me. I cannot afford to drill a new well or install an expensive filtration system if my current water becomes contaminated. Thousands of North Carolina families like mine depend on private wells. We have no municipal backup; we have no alternative water supply. The Clean Water Act exists to protect us—and HR 3898 would abandon us. I am asking you to protect my family's drinking water. Vote against HR 3898. North Carolina's aquifers, wetlands, and streams are not luxuries—they are the foundation of our water security. My family's health depends on the protections you uphold in the Senate.