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The Trump administration on Thursday overturned a major regulation on the clean water quality of the Obama era, canceling protections granted to certain waterways and wetlands that fell into a legal gray zone after a series of Supreme Court challenges .
Announced by Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, at an event held at the headquarters of the National Association of Manufacturers, a professional group that had long been calling for the repeal of the 2015 rule, this reduction will limit the number of waterways protected by the federal government. pollution and chemicals – which, according to President Donald Trump, undermines the rights of farmers, developers and landowners.
"Today's action in Step 1 embodies a key promise of President Trump and paves the way for Step 2 – a new [Water of the United States] a definition that will bring greater regulatory certainty to farmers, landowners, homebuilders and property developers across the country, "said Wheeler, noting that the final change in rules will materialize later this year.
The rule was created as a result of two Supreme Court decisions that created uncertainty about the protection of waterways and wetlands. While the Bush White House had put in place a flexible course of action, the Obama administration decided to establish a permanent rule and definition in the framework of the EPA in 2015. This new text of regulations extended protections to approximately 60% of US waterways.
However, agriculture and industry groups said it only served to limit how they could use their own land.
"No regulation is perfect, and no rule can account for all the concerns, but the 2015 rule was particularly blatant," said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau, who made pressure for the regulation to be changed. We are relieved to abandon it. we. We are now working to find a fair and reasonable substitute that protects our water and our ability to work and care for the earth. "
Former officials shy away from rule change
Former EPA officials who have worked under Republican and Democratic administrations told NBC News that the rule change would only benefit the mining industry, pipeline and pipeline companies, and real estate developers. .
Critics of the 2015 rule say that farmers have been subject to excessive regulation, forcing them to obtain a permit for each potential water course, but officials said the rule maintained all the exemptions for agriculture imposed by the Clean Water Act, and that they had even extended the exemptions. extend to ditches and other bodies of water that did not flow steadily.
It's the industries, not the farmers, that will benefit, said Betsy Southerland, former director of science and technology at the EPA's Office of Water, who she left in 2017 after more than 30 years.
"This will mean that miners will be able to clear mountain tops and fill streams, pipelines will be able to cross wetlands, real estate developers will be able to build on wetlands without permission," Southerland said. "What they do with this repeal is to leave it to the states to take care of it." I can tell you that there are very few states that have licensing and enforcement programs to do this. They have always depended on the EPA. "
At the same time, the quality of US water will deteriorate and poor rural communities will be the first to pay the price, according to Southerland and other officials.
"The cumulative effect of the loss of all these wetlands and the destruction of all these streams will have a significant negative impact on all the waters we use for consumption and recreation," said Southerland. "Wetlands are important flood control functions and filter pollutants before reaching the waterways through which we drink. All this will be lost if we no longer have these protections, and once you have lost them, you will not be able to recover them. "
Once the rule became official in 2015, 18 states sued the Obama administration for justice to stop what they saw as an illegal expansion of federal authority over insignificant waterways such as streams and wetlands. The states said the federal government had usurped the wording of the Clean Water Act which made a clear distinction between federal authorities and state or private landowners.
Experts say the Trump administration and the industries involved in this change in rules may have to wait for states and environmental groups to challenge the challenges to get through the legal system.
"The withdrawal rule has been very controversial and has been around for almost three years," said Mark Ryan, a Clean Water Act expert who helped draft the rule towards the end of his 24-year litigation career. seasoned. for the EPA. "It will certainly be challenged by the states – nearly half of which are now governed by the 2015 rule – and by environmental groups."
Another problem is that this rule will potentially suggest a new way of managing interstate waterways, which could lead to prosecution between states.
"This is what the federal government is here to do," said Mr. Southerland, "they ensure that the rules of equity are the same for states with respect to the quality of water and air".
Environmental groups prepare to challenge Trump
On Thursday, more than two dozen environmental groups shared their statements in which they expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Trump administration's decision and their fear of seeing what it could mean for waterways and waterways. unprotected streams. Many said that they would not sit idly by.
Scott Edwards, director of Food & Water Justice, said his group planned to meet or exceed the challenges that the 2015 rule had seen since its adoption.
"It has been four years since legal proceedings were started since the publication of the 2015 regulation," he said. "The reign of Trump will meet an equal number of oppositions and legal challenges as well as attempts to cancel it.
Edward's group is not alone in this challenge.
Earthjustice, a group of environmental lawyers who has sued the EPA because of several changes in environmental regulations, has announced plans to continue to keep up the pressure on the current administration.
"We are already involved in litigation and advocacy on these issues," said Anna Sewell, senior counsel at Earthjustice. "We plan to continue to advocate where appropriate to ensure that the protection of clean water remains consistent with the full force of the law."
Although most expressed concern over the latest move by the Trump administration, many groups said there were many other fronts for court challenges.
"There is literally a wave of regulatory changes coming out of this administration that will have to be challenged," said Edwards, "and we will be in court to challenge them."
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