Trump Administration Is Quietly Moving To Reverse Obama-Era Clean Water Rule
The Trump administration is planning to repeal Obama-era clean water regulations for small waterways.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally proposed the language on Tuesday.
Under the Trump administration proposal federal officials would go back to enforcing a guidance document from 2008 when deciding whether a waterway is subject to federal oversight for pollution control purposes rather than use the Obama rules.
The move by the EPA is the first formal step towards Donald Trump’s promise to repeal the 2015 “waters of the United States” regulation, which Republicans and manyindustry groups oppose.
The Trump administration plans on putting in place more industry friendly regulations.
“We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nation’s farmers and businesses,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
“This is the first step in the two-step process to redefine ‘waters of the U.S.’ and we are committed to moving through this re-evaluation to quickly provide regulatory certainty, in a way that is thoughtful, transparent and collaborative with other agencies and the public.”
Environmental groups blast the Trump administration decision
Environmental groups blasted the decsion and promised to fight the Trump administration in court.
“Rolling back clean water safeguards and weakening protections for the drinking water of more than one-third of all Americans is alarming,” said Rosemary Enobakhare, a former deputy associate administrator at the EPA.
“The Trump administration’s intentional disregard for the public support around the 2015 clean water rule is disheartening.”
[image via screengrab]
