By Karen Schneller-McDonald

Plans afoot in Washington threaten water protection. Recently the Trump administration rescinded the Stream Protection Rule, which protected water quality at mountaintop removal mining sites. Now the President has directed the EPA to review the Clean Water Rule for conflicts with his economic growth agenda, and has begun a two-part plan to rescind the Rule and change the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” in the Clean Water Act.

WHAT’S THE CLEAN WATER RULE?
The Rule is the product of four years of EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers peer-reviewed hydrological studies, interagency reviews, economic analyses and input from a variety of public and private organizations. It updates the federal Clean Water Act by clarifying the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” which determines what water resources qualify for protection under the Act. This was done to address regulatory confusion resulting from several court cases.

One in three Americans gets their drinking water from a source that wouldn’t qualify for protection under proposed changes in the definition of “Waters of the U.S.”

WHAT’S AT STAKE?
The Clean Water Rule clarified the definition while effectively protecting the quality and supply of our water. However, the current administration prefers a much narrower definition that would protect fewer wetlands and streams; up to 60% of our water Continue reading “Washington Plan Threatens Our Water” →