From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):
At President Trump’s direction, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) recently announced their plan to eliminate critical protections for more than half of the nation’s wetlands and thousands of miles of streams.
By proposing to change the definition of “waters of the United States,” the EPA and Corps would drastically limit which bodies of water fall under federal Clean Water Act protections. This means that many of the smaller streams and waterways that provide millions of Americans with clean water would lose key safeguards against pollution and development.
We need the federal government to do more, not less, to protect and restore the waterways on which our communities depend. Tell the EPA and the Corps to reject the “Dirty Water Rule” at https://pennfuture.salsalabs.org/072717cleanwaterrulerepealepapubliccommentcopy1/index.html.
For the first time since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, the federal government is proposing to end long-standing protections for critical water resources such as ephemeral streams, which flow only after rain events and provide water for larger streams and rivers, filter pollutants, and capture nutrients to ensure healthier waters downstream. It would also severely reduce the number of wetlands protected by covering only those that either physically abut protected waters or have a direct surface water connection to protected waters.
There is no scientific basis for excluding these waters from federal protections – these changes are being made to give polluters a free pass while reversing all the progress we have made since the Clean Water Act was passed. ALL Americans deserve access to safe, clean water for drinking, fishing, and swimming. ALL of our streams and wetlands, no matter how small, should be protected from pollution. Don’t let EPA and the Corps change that.
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