; it is necessary to sustain life and the economic and environmental health and well-being of cities, towns, and communities. (2) Americans rely on the Nation’s network of streams and rivers, and the bodies of water into which they flow, for human and environmental health, as well as the economic health of cities, towns, and communities. (3) This network of streams and rivers, including the intermittent and ephemeral streams that constitute more than two-thirds of all streams in the conterminous United States, feed the public drinking water systems of approximately 117 million Americans. (4) The Environmental Protection Agency’s own comprehensive review of peer-reviewed scientific publications stated that the scientific literature unequivocally demonstrates that streams, individually or cumulatively, exert a strong influence on the integrity of downstream waters and that the connections between streams and downstream waters are critical to the health of downstream waters, including where the upstream waters serve as the primary source of water for the downstream waters, and the myriad other chemical, physical, and biological connections. (5) Americans also rely on wetlands, including non-floodplain wetlands, to capture and store excess water, nutrients, and materials from stormwater or runoff, preventing or reducing pollution to downstream waters, and lessening the potential for downstream flooding. (6) There is overwhelming scientific evidence, which has been reviewed and confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board, that there are no streams or rivers safe to pollute or degrade, and that wetlands, both individually and cumulatively, have a direct and consequential impact on the quality of downstream waters and on the health and safety of downstream communities. (7) Restoring the protection of the network of streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, and other waters of the United States, is necessary to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of all waters