The Trump administration launched its assault on our clean water and drinking water protections with a proposed repeal of the Clean Water Rule. A lengthy, deliberate, and inclusive process led to the 2015 Clean Water Rule, a rule protective of vital waterways and based in sound law and sound science. By comparison, the Administration’s scheme to repeal and eviscerate the 2015 Clean Water Rule has been hasty and haphazard, ignoring the strong legal and scientific basis for the Rule, disrespecting its broad public support, and providing little opportunity for the many clean water stakeholders to voice their interest in inclusive Clean Water Act coverage to protect the nation’s waters.

This proposed rulemaking contradicts the law and science that is the foundation for the Clean Water Act successes of the past 40 years, will remove Clean Water Act protections for millions of wetland acres and stream miles, and will cripple federal and state clean water initiatives for the foreseeable future. This rulemaking ignores the robust record in support of the Clean Water Rule, and intentionally limits the opportunity for affected communities to express their views about this proposal.

We oppose this heartless scheme to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule and to gut the protections that have prevented reckless pollution of the nation's waterways for decades. The repeal will mean more pollution to the lakes and streams we rely on for drinking water supply or for fishing and swimming, and a green light for the rampant destruction of wetlands that prevent dangerous flooding. We urge the Administration to withdraw its proposal immediately. If the agencies decide to consider any potential revisions to the 2015 Clean Water Rule, they must engage in a thoughtful, inclusive, science-based, and legally sound process for doing so.

Make your voice heard! The Clean Water Rule was published in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted to the docket by September 27, 2017.

You can submit comments with our Action Alert here.

OR

You can use these Talking Points and the resources listed below to submit comments directly online here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0203-0001

Resources:

Repeal of Clean Water Rule: What’s At Stake, SELC, June 2017

Putting Drinking Water First: Restoring Clean Water Act Protections to Streams and Wetlands, Clean Water Action, Spring 2017

We All Live Downstream, National Wildlife Federation, March 2017

New Attempt to Muddy Clean Water Protections, National Wildlife Federation, June 2017

Clean Water for All Campaign, http://protectcleanwater.org

Social media:

Hashtags: #DefendWater #ProtectCleanWater #DirtyWaterRule