Proposed EPA rule will thwart Clean Water Act

The federal Navigable Waters Protection Rule announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January is nothing but a dirty water rule in disguise. While the Trump administration claims that the purpose of its rule is to end uncertainty over what waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, it really is part of a continued campaign by the Trump Administration to roll back basic environmental safeguards. The Trump Administration's own government advisory board of scientists wrote that the proposed rule neglects established science.

Unregulated pollution of our waterways is wrong. The dirty water rule eliminates many legal protections for waters that feed into our rivers and lakes and leaves them vulnerable to dumping by polluters. The impacts of the pollution will not stop at any boundary. Water has no boundaries. Polluted water will drain into surrounding rivers and streams and threaten the health, environment and economy of residents and their surrounding communities.

If the Trump Administration won't defend our water, our state and local governments must step up to the challenge of protecting our waters.

Kimberly Neely Du Buclet, Commissioner

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District