Alabama is a state with a fairly centralized government that puts a great deal of decision-making power in the hands of the state legislature. This makes it more difficult for the public to influence decisions that are made without building relationships with legislators and actively engaging them during the legislative session in Montgomery, such as through lobbying.
While some of our major water protection laws, like the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act are passed onto states from the federal government, there are still plenty of important things our state legislators can do to make sure these laws are properly implemented and enforced and that state agencies are adequately funded to do that work.
When it comes to laws and regulations regarding water use and how much water we need to be sure our rivers and streams are flowing as they should, there are no federal laws. Those decisions are the responsibility of the state and, unfortunately, Alabama does not do enough.
The Alabama Rivers Alliance prioritizes educating and building relationships with state legislators and empowering our members and partners to build those relationships. We also actively lobby during the legislative sessions for and against bills that relate to our mission of protecting clean water for people and nature.
A special thank you to the Sierra Club Alabama Chapter for their support of our legislative work.
