Waterkeepers Chesapeake’s statement on proposed rule stripping federal safeguards from tens of millions of acres of wetlands and countless streams.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to remove Clean Water Act protections from more waterways we depend on for clean drinking water. The agency’s new proposal announced today would strip protections from most wetlands and seasonal streams across the country, expanding the already severe losses caused by the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision in 2023.
This latest rollback is part of a broader effort to weaken clean water protections piece by piece until polluters face virtually no guardrails at all. If enacted, this new rule would accelerate the destruction of wetlands, worsen water quality, and put the health of our communities — and the drinking water they depend on — at risk.
Narrowing of scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act removes federal safeguards from many rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and other vital waterways — and these waterways also lose the public’s right to enforce the Clean Water Act. Without oversight, these waters face increased risks from pollution, threatening clean drinking water, recreation, fisheries, and aquatic life.
EPA says they must revise the Clean Water Act’s definition of “waters of the United States” in order to lower the cost of doing business. Yet, eliminating clean water protections would be a disaster for the economy when factoring in higher water treatment costs and utility bills, exorbitant cleanup costs, flooding disaster damages, healthcare expenses, reduced agricultural production, and lost business opportunities. Instead of fulfilling its mission to protect our environment and public health, the EPA is making it easier for industry to destroy our public resources and take away our right to clean water.
In 2024, Waterkeepers Chesapeake led the successful passage of the Clean Water Justice Act in response to the Sackett v. EPA decision. This Maryland bill restored the right of impacted community members to enforce laws to protect inland wetlands and intermittent and ephemeral streams which was lost with the Sackett v EPAdecision. The act gave Marylanders the same degree of access to state courts as they have in federal court. A person’s right to enforce the Clean Water Act is a powerful compliance tool and deterrent for law breaking. Public enforcement rights are often a last resort and provide a measure of deterrence that helps stimulate a culture of compliance.
Waterkeepers steadfastly oppose those who ignore science and threats of climate change and threaten public health and safety.
We all have a right to a future that includes clean water. We will continue to fight for clean water for everyone, now and in the future.
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