[ad_1]
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it has finalized the repeal of the clean water rule of the Obama era, which provides protections for large and small plans of water. The EPA will create a new rule to replace the US Waters Regulations (WOTUS), established in 2015. The Trump rule should cover fewer waterways than the current one and weaken existing protections.
Shortly after its inauguration, President Trump signed a decree ordering the EPA and the Army to "revise and rescind or revise" the regulation. The order stated that it was in the interest of the nation to keep watercourses free of pollution, while promoting economic growth and reducing regulatory uncertainties.
Many companies opposed the WOTUS rule, arguing that it was too broad. The National Federation of Independent Businesses sued the Obama administration for breaking the rule, complaining of giving the federal government "jurisdiction over seasonal water courses, ponds, ditches and even depressions that are dry for most of the year ". The federation also disputed the fact that business owners could be fined $ 50,000 a day for breaking the rule.
In December 2018, EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, unveiled the rule revision by the Trump administration, presenting it as a law that would provide states and landowners with more clarity and "certainty" on protected water bodies.
At a press conference held on Thursday, Wheeler told reporters that many states already have their own protections against their waters, but that the administration aims to provide "a strong network of coverage for our country "and to" restore the water we drink and the land we use, which means that homeowners will spend less time and money fighting. "
The 2018 press release indicated that the following water plans would be regulated by the federal government:
- Traditional navigable waters and tributaries of these waters;
- "Some" ditches;
- "Some" lakes and ponds;
- The impoundment of jurisdictional waters; and
- Wetlands adjacent to jurisdictional waters.
The EPA rule also defines what are not "US waters", including:
- Characteristics that only contain water during or in response to precipitation;
- Groundwater;
- "Many" ditches, including most ditches along the road or farm;
- Previously converted farmland;
- Stormwater control features; and
- And the waste treatment systems.
Environmentalists fear that the new rule will lead to more pollution, especially in small areas of water that will no longer have protected status.
Mr. Trump often complains that the WOTUS rule is too burdensome for landowners and businesses. His administration claims that the White House is fulfilling its environmental goals "in a way that also encourages economic growth". In addition to the action of the administration, lawmakers have introduced their own legislation in addition to the repeal of the president. Republican Senators Mike Braun and Joni Ernest introduced a bill that would include a new definition in the law to provide permanent certainty so that future administrations can not cancel the dismantling of Mr. Trump.
Braun told CBS News in a statement that the bill set out a new definition in the law "so that no future administration can treat our farmers in the same way as the previous administration."
The new rule, which restores the standards of the 1986 guidelines under the law of water sanitation, should face a series of legal challenges. Administrator Wheeler told reporters that the administration intended to move everything before the winter "so that when spring comes, hard-working Americans will have the regulation they need."
[ad_2]
Source link