EPA To Rescind Clean Water Rule Covering More Than Half Of American Waters

WASHINGTON, DC — Under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency is working to rescind the Clean Water Rule first devised under President Obama, which was meant to protect more than half of the bodies of water in the United States from pollution. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt argued in a statement released late on Tuesday that the rules, which were never enforced, burden American businesses and create "regulatory uncertainty."

"We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation's farmers and businesses," Pruitt said. "This is the first step in the two-step process to redefine 'waters of the U.S.' and we are committed to moving through this re-evaluation to quickly provide regulatory certainty, in a way that is thoughtful, transparent and collaborative with other agencies and the public."

The Obama administration sought to extend regulations under the 1972 Clean Water Act to state waterways and bodies that are connected to the currently protected federal waters. The rule, first proposed in 2015, was blocked by the courts and never implemented. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Watch: The EPA Just Took A Big Step Toward Repealing The Clean Water Rule

According to the New York Times, this rule would cover 60 percent of the bodies of water in the United States.

As Pruitt notes, some farmers and businesses, which can pollute public waters in their use of pesticides and other contaminants, have criticized the rule. They argue that it imposes excessive restrictions on their work and imposes unnecessary economic costs, and the administration argues states should be allowed to decide on their own regulations.

Some states have recently imposed regulations to protect against potentially toxic pollutants, such as a chemical in Roundup that California added to a list of cancerous substances.

Environmentalists argue that the federal rule would benefit millions of Americans by protecting the security of their drinking water.

“With the rollback of the Clean Water Rule, Scott Pruitt and President Trump are poised to let industry and agriculture treat much of the nation’s drinking water supply like an ashtray, instead of a vital natural resource every single American relies on,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs of the Environmental Working Group. “Americans are paying the price of the administration's near-constant assault on public health and the environment, but it's a free ride for polluters, who face no consequences for contaminating our drinking water."

According to the EWG, more than 72 million people get more than 50 percent of their water from small streams and rivers. Many of these waterways could have been covered by the Clean Water Rule, if it were implemented.

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