Washington Watch: Destroying America’s Wetlands
The Trump Administration has released its proposed replacement for the Clean Water Rule. It would result in massive destruction of wetlands in North Carolina and nationwide.
Last week, CIB described the damaging changes to rules interpreting the scope of the Clean Water Act, and on December 11, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made that proposal official. It will have severe, sweeping consequences to clean water in North Carolina.
Reaction from citizen conservation advocates was swift, strong, and promised a fight to protect clean water and wetlands. Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) Charleston office Managing Attorney Blan Holman said, “Big polluters could not have crafted a bigger free pass to dump if they wrote it themselves. This administration’s efforts to dismantle the Clean Water Act are a full-frontal assault on one of our country’s most important and longstanding environmental safeguards that has prevented unchecked and unlimited pollution from contaminating our waterways and drinking water sources for nearly 50 years. Protecting the South’s waters against pollution is our top priority. In the face of this serious threat, SELC and our partners will fight this dangerous proposal in court.”
“This despicable attack on our clean water from Trump and his corrupt administration comes as no surprise as they have clearly and consistently put the profits of polluters ahead of what’s best for our families,” said Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters. “However, with too many communities across the country struggling with health crises related to their water, whether it be lead poisoning in Flint or toxic red tide in Florida or coal ash and hog waste-contaminated rivers in North Carolina, Trump’s Dirty Water Rule is still an appalling rollback of critical safeguards for our waterways. It is crystal clear that we must do more, not less, to ensure every family in this country has access to clean and safe drinking water, and we pledge to fight this dangerous proposal to turn our drinking water sources back into the waste dumps of big polluters.”
CIB will track this critical issue throughout 2019, and link to citizen action opportunities at key points.
Up next, Zinke Hits the Skids >>
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