Potomac Conservancy statement on the EPA's Unprecedented Assault on the Clean Water Act
The Trump Administration's EPA removes basic water protections put in place 50 years ago
Photo Courtesy of Geoff Livingston/Flickr
NEWS ALERT: Today, President Trump and the EPA announced an unprecedented rule change that rolls back federal water protections and allows for the unregulated pollution of waterways that have been protected for the last 50 years.
The Trump Administration is eliminating upstream pollution permits and abolishing the 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS), a rule that provides critical federal protections for streams, wetlands, and groundwater sources under the 1972 Clean Water Act.
It is these federal protections, now so carelessly eliminated, that we have to thank for the remarkable comeback of the Potomac River and other waterways in the Chesapeake Bay region. This administration's dangerous and extreme “Dirty Water Rule” not only threatens our upstream tributaries and wetlands, it needlessly puts drinking water at risk for 13 million people in the Bay watershed.
As Carol Davenport from the New York Times explains, “The new water rule for the first time in decades allows landowners and property developers to dump pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers directly into hundreds of thousands of waterways, and to destroy or fill in wetlands for construction projects.”
The health of the Potomac River, the source of the water we drink, depends on clean freshwater from a vast network of tributary streams and wetlands that span across 14,000 square miles. It’s taken decades to rein in agricultural pollution and to find solutions that address increasing urban runoff. This irresponsible rule change flies in the face of all the progress made to restore clean, safe water to our communities. We must continue the course and hold polluters accountable if we are to restore swimmable, fishable waters to our communities.
Clean water is vital to our health, communities, and economy. This cannot stand. Together, we will continue to be united in our efforts to fight for healthy lands, safe water, and a clean Potomac.
Read more about the new “Waters of the United States Rule” at the New York Times.