According to the Pennsylvania state constitution, Article I, Sections 27 - The Environmental Rights Amendment:

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”

At present, the fundamental right of all Pennsylvanians to clean water hangs in the balance as the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, is actively working to dismantle the federal Clean Water Rule.

Established in 2015 by the Obama Administration, the rule provided much needed clarification for which “waters of the United States” are to receive federal protections under the Clean Water Act (1972). The definition extended protections to smaller waterways including headwaters, ponds, wetlands and intermittent streams, which ultimately feed into larger navigable waterways and drinking water sources.

While industry polluters like to argue that the rule gives too much authority to the federal government and inhibits economic growth, it is important to note that 117 million Americans source their drinking water from public systems that tap into these smaller streams and water recreation and fishing account for billions each year in revenue. Additionally, the rule safeguards approximately 110 million acres of wetlands,  which naturally filter pollutants from contaminated water, replenish groundwater and mitigate flooding.

As some members of Congress, in favor of corporate polluters, attempt to expedite the repeal and replacement of the rule with a looser definition covering a smaller set of waterways, many Democrats and environmental organizations are speaking up and suing the Trump Administration for this irresponsible policy undoing.

The Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter is fervently opposed to the removal of the clean water protections. This summer, volunteers and supporters in the Lehigh Valley region were encouraged to write inspirational letters addressed to Acting Administrator Wheeler during the EPA’s Clean Water Rule public comment period, which ended on August 13th, 2018.

Among the 27 letters collected, most described the critical value of clean drinking water, and the positive effect childhood memories of fishing, paddling and boating in healthy streams have had on their lives. In order to gain a personal perspective on how the repeal of the Clean Water Rule could affect you, hear from three local advocates, and learn more about why upholding the Clean Water Rule is so essential.

“I’ve been fortunate to have lived around water all my life: growing up near the Fox River in Elgin, Illinois, then by the Pacific Ocean off La Jolla, California, moving as an adult near the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers in Iowa, and now living above the Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

One thing I've noticed in all of these bodies of water is that given a chance, nature can heal itself. This is a remarkable thing to see, and I very much want others to know that it's never too late to undo the damage and even better, to protect our water from harm in the first place.

As a boy, my mother would never let me swim in the river near our house, partly due to the chemical releases from a paint factory upstream. Although the river still suffers from pollution, that particular threat is gone, and the towns in the Fox River Valley are proud of their waterfronts.

As a teen, I snorkeled in the ocean when abalone were free game and therefore rapidly depleted, and I never saw the state fish, the bright orange garibaldi. Returning as a young adult I was delighted to see that due to the establishment of a marine reserve, both species were back, and fishing was abundant.

Living in Iowa, I saw the struggle over agricultural runoff full of nitrates from fertilizers and the need for clean drinking water, especially in the state capital, Des Moines. The struggle between competing interests continues to make solutions difficult, but ensuring clean water is vital. Collaboration is key.”

I consider where I live now, Bethlehem and the state of Pennsylvania, to have the most beautiful and promising waters and waterways of anywhere I've lived. I love the vistas and the fish and the recreation I share with my grandchildren near and in the Monocacy Creek and other waterways in the Delaware River Watershed. In some ways the struggle for clean water in Pennsylvania reminds me of what I saw in Iowa, and collaboration is key here too.

Nature can heal itself if we let it. That's the takeaway I leave with you as I urge collaboration for clean water in our beautiful state.”

Gregory Cook, resident of Bethlehem, PA 

“I routinely fish in the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. I enjoy wading along the banks and watching the wildlife such as osprey, eagles and turkeys. I would hate to see the beauty of those rivers destroyed by pollution as I have seen in the creeks in the county in Kentucky, where I used to live. I have seen first-hand just how much environmental damage that can occur in just a few years when the environment is not protected. I spent 9 years at the U.S. EPA cleaning up others’ messes at Superfund sites across the country.

For 30 years the Clean Water Act covered all the waters that President Obama’s Clean Water Rule added back into the mix. It wasn’t until President Bush used an Executive Order to redefine what waters were covered that those waters were removed.

Our country was fully functional and our economy was not hurt by the initial interpretation of “navigable waters”. If the law worked for 30 years with a more expansive interpretation of “navigable waters”, I find it hard to believe that reverting back to the protections of the original Clean Water Act will have the severe negative economic impacts that opponents of the Clean Water Rule claim.”

Thomas H. Pritchett, resident of Easton, PA

“I am strongly opposed to repealing and replacing the Clean Water Rule. I urge you to reconsider the EPA’s position.

The headwaters, streams and wetlands protected by the Clean Water rule are essential to our drinking water, economy, and our communities.

We need to assure the protection of wild and endangered species and assure for clean and safe recreation, including recreational navigation and fishing on waterways, from small tributaries to large streams and rivers.

Removing the protection of the Clean Water Rule will put drinking water and wetland resources in danger. Wetlands filter pollutants from water, recharge groundwater, absorb flood waters, as well as providing wildlife habitat. Wetlands are already being lost at an alarming rate. So it is most important to emphasize the need to protect them.

We need to persist in assuring that the “waters of the United States” are protected and that we keep the 2015 Rule, so that future generations as well as the rest of us now, benefit from CLEAN, SAFE water to DRINK, SWIM, and FISH.”

W. R. Buskirk, Jr., resident of Bath, PA

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This blog was included as part of the 2019 Winter Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!