Today is a big day for clean water -- a federal court told the Trump administration that it went too far when it suspended enforcement of protections for streams and wetlands. Clean Water Action, along with more than a dozen other plaintiffs, challenged EPA's illegal 2-year suspension of the Clean Water Rule. And we won.
Trump’s proposed budget would be a disaster for our nation’s water. This isn't surprising - the Trump administration has worked to undermine common sense protections for our water and health since inauguration day. But this budget is particularly shortsighted and just plain mean.
Science was glaringly absent from the agenda for the November 29th Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology hearing, “The Future of WOTUS: Examining the Role of States.” WOTUS stands for “Waters of the United States” – a wonky legal term used to describe the waters the Clean Water Act protects.
Clean Water Act under attack.
The Dirty Water Caucus in the U.S. Senate is attacking a key Clean Water Act protection, and they’re trying to sneak that attack into the Coast Guard Authorization Act. This bill currently contains the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), which strips EPA of its authority under the Clean Water Act to protect against ballast water pollution from ships.
In his Joint Address to Congress on Tuesday, President Trump touted he will “promote clean air and clean water.” His remarks came only hours after signing an Executive Order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to “reconsider” their 2015 Clean Water Rule that strengthened clean water protections.
It’s no secret that Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is no fan of the Clean Water Rule (or any EPA regulation for that matter), commonsense safeguards to protect small streams and wetlands from polluters, including drinking water sources.