From PennFuture (http://www.pennfuture.org):
Obama era water protection cleared confusion around pollution investigations
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind the Clean Water Rule, putting waters across the country in danger of being further contaminated, and putting the drinking water of millions at even greater risk.
“Wetlands protection has been under assault by developers and oil companies, who used the courts to chip away at the law. They also enlisted farmers to oppose wetlands protection with fear-baiting. In recent years, the science of wetlands has greatly improved and the Obama administration, guided by scientists and legal experts, crafted a very conservative definition of the wetlands that would be protected under the law, excluding so-called ‘isolated wetlands,'” said Larry J. Schweiger, PennFuture President and CEO.
“While the Clean Water Rule did not go far enough to protect all critical wetlands, it was a step in the right direction. President Trump, through EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, withdrew the Clean Water Rule, leaving a cloud of confusion over Federal jurisdiction. So, here we are 45 years after enactment of the Clean Water Act, without clarifying guidance on wetlands protection. It is a very sad day for those fighting on behalf of clean water for the people of the United States,” Schweiger said.
The removal of the Clean Water Rule protection puts Pennsylvania’s clean water in jeopardy and turns a blind eye to polluters, increasing stormwater runoff, sediment erosion, agriculture runoff, and acid mine drainage.
One third of Americans get their drinking water from seasonal streams, creeks, and rivers protected by this rule, and we cannot afford to put this resource in danger. The Clean Water Rule asserts federal power over small waterways such as wetlands, headwaters and ponds, requiring Clean Water Act permits for any actions that could harm or pollute them. The Obama administration reported that 117 million Americans’ drinking water relies on those waterways.
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