WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under Donald Trump’s direction, announced a proposed rule that would drastically undermine the bedrock protections set forth in the Clean Water Act. With this rule, EPA would significantly curtail authority granted by the Clean Water Act for states to protect their water quality. The rule change would severely limit the time and tools available to states to properly evaluate the effect federally permitted projects, like pipelines or fossil fuel facilities, would have on waterways. Namely, it would limit states’ ability to request additional information on the negative effects of proposed projects and would limit their review of water quality impacts to only point source discharges, instead of all potential sources of pollution, including from sediment, runoff, or erosion. Point source discharges are defined as coming from “any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance...from which pollutants are or may be discharged.”
Prior to the rule even being finalized, attorneys general from across the country have voiced concerns about efforts to undermine states’ ability to protect their water.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
"It’s simple: the Trump Administration is undermining and attacking the Clean Water Act because it’s more interested in padding corporate polluter profits than ensuring communities have access to safe drinking water. This attack on one of our most fundamental clean water protections seeks to severely limit states’ ability to protect their water, at a time when climate change, water scarcity, and pollution make access to clean water more important than ever. It’s expected that we can’t trust the polluting corporations behind these dirty, dangerous projects to protect our water, but it’s disastrous that we can’t trust our own president to do so, either.”
Contact: Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
EPA page on proposed rule: https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401/updating-regulations-water-quality-certification
Docket: This is not yet open and the comment period has not begun.
Public Hearing: The EPA will hold a public hearing session on the proposed “Updated Regulations on Water Quality Certifications” rule on September 5, 2019 from 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Mountain Daylight Time) and September 6, 2019 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Mountain Daylight Time) at the Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 E 400 S, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111.
State and Tribal Listening Sessions
The EPA will hold state and tribal listening sessions on the proposed “Updated Regulations on Water Quality Certifications” rule.
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The first series of listening sessions will take place at the Salt Lake City Public Library, 210 E 400 S, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111. The tribal listening session will be held on September 4, 2019 from 1 pm to 5 pm (Mountain Daylight Time). The state listening session will be held on September 5, 2019 from 9 am to 12 pm (Mountain Daylight Time).
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The second series of listening sessions will take place at the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 offices at 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. The state listening session will be held on the morning of September 16, 2019. The tribal listening session will be held on the afternoon of September 16, 2019.
Additional resources and information:
Attorneys General
Governor’s opposition statements to guidance:
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Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer & Great Lakes Govs: Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, and J. B. Pritzker of Illinois.