EPA Introduces Navigable Waters Protection Rule
Ever since it was installed by the Obama administration in 2015, the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule — a layer of the Clean Water Act meant to clarify how the country’s water resources should be managed — has drawn controversy.
While some have praised the federal protection that it afforded waterways, others argue that it represents federal overreach and hinders business expansion. Lawsuits against WOTUS have emerged over the years and now, the U.S. EPA has introduced a change that will reduce its scope.
In late January 2020, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, a revised definition for WOTUS meant to add clarity to the rule and balance pollution protection with states’ rights and economic growth.
“The Navigable Waters Protection Rule ends decades of uncertainty over where federal jurisdiction begins and ends,” according to an EPA news release. “For the first time, EPA and the Army are recognizing the difference between federally protected wetlands and state protected wetlands. It adheres to the statutory limits of the agencies’ authority. It also ensures that America’s water protections — among the best in the world — remain strong, while giving our states and tribes the certainty to manage their waters in ways that best protect their natural resources and local economies.”
The EPA added that this new definition identifies four categories of waters that are to be federally regulated, per the Clean Water Act. These include territorial seas and “traditional navigable waters,” perennial and intermittent tributaries, certain lakes and ponds, and wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters. It also details the waters that are not subject to federal control — including bodies that are only created due to direct rainfall, groundwater, farm and stock watering ponds, and waste treatment systems.
While the EPA framed this revision as a much-needed clarifier, a positive for state power, and a win for local economies, environmentalists may be concerned that a reduction in federal protection opens up the potential for more pollution. Of course, any pollution in source water eventually finds its way to drinking water treatment plants.
“[The] new rule … is the latest step in the Trump administration’s push to repeal or weaken nearly 100 environmental rules and laws, loosening or eliminating rules on climate change, clean air, chemical pollution, coal mining, oil drilling and endangered species protections,” per The New York Times. “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.”
Earlier this month, Trump also announced a rollback of proposed changes to the Water Supply Act from 2016. Meanwhile, career employees of the EPA have reportedly been silenced when speaking up against the ongoing deregulation efforts.
To read more about federal rules governing water pollution, visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.