Senator Carper Welcomes Former DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara to Testify at Committee Hearing on Clean Water Rule

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, welcomed former Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Secretary, and current President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, Collin O’Mara to the committee’s hearing focusing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Water Rule.

“Collin has always been an incredible advocate for Delaware, our natural resources and the health of our communities,” said Senator Carper. “We’re lucky that Collin could join us to shed light on the complex issue of fairly protecting our nation’s millions of miles of waterways. He perfectly summed up this complex issue when he quoted Wendell Berry and suggested we should adopt a ‘Water Golden Rule’ where you ‘do unto those downstream as you would want those upstream to do onto you.’ The EPA’s clean water rule, while not perfect, is as close to a Water Golden Rule as we’ve ever seen, protecting the drinking water of 117 million Americans while also taking into account more than 1 million public comments from Americans across the country.”

“Over the past few years, Senator Carper has emerged as the leading voice in the United States Senate calling for restoring America’s waterways,” said Collin O’Mara. “From the Brandywine to the Bayshore and the Nanticoke to the Inland Bays, Delaware’s waterways are the economic lifeblood of the First State, supporting tens of thousands of water-jobs in tourism, agriculture, brewing, and related industries—and attracting millions of visitors every year. If we are guided by sound science and work collaboratively, we can fulfill the Clean Water Act’s promise of swimmable, drinkable, fishable waterways in our lifetime—and I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Senator Carper to make this vision a reality.”

Collin’s full testimony from yesterday can be found here, and his full bio can be found below:

Collin O’Mara

Collin O’Mara is the President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest wildlife conservation organization with more than six million members and 50 state and territorial affiliates.  Under O’Mara’s leadership, the National Wildlife Federation is focused on uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world. The Federation works with both Republicans and Democrats to protect wildlife, restore habitat, ensure healthy waters, defend public lands, provide environmental education, and connect people with the great outdoors—and they publish the award-winning Ranger Rick magazine.

Prior to the National Wildlife Federation, O’Mara led the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control as Cabinet Secretary from 2009 through 2014. In that position, Secretary O’Mara served as the state’s top natural resource official, led the state’s efforts to conserve and restore wildlife and fishery habitat, improve air quality and public health, ensure access to clean water, expand outdoor recreation and environmental education opportunities, and enhance the state’s resilience to extreme weather and other climate impacts.

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