WOTUS

Today, May 27th, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy along with Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy announced a rule to clarify protection of streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
This rule clarification is necessary to keep waters that drain into larger streams that serve as drinking water clean. Because if the streams draining in carry contaminants, they will be in the clearly regulated stream. The Clean Water Act protects “navigable waters,” waters you can put a canoe or kayak on and get from one place to another. But to protect those waters, tributaries and wetlands that drain into the streams need to be protected, too. And that was not always the case because local laws and enforcement varied across the nation.
Farmers are concerned about this rule, but the current exemptions for agriculture remain.
With severe droughts and flooding across the country, the importance of water has never been more clear.
An EPA press release said that climate change makes protecting our water even more essential. According to the EPA, one in three Americans is drinking water from drinking water that lacked clear protection.
Fittingly, the press conference was held on the Anacostia River that flows from Maryland into the Potomac River in Washington DC. Despite recent strides to protect the river, the Anacostia has been plagued with pollution from sewage and urban runoff, as well as PCB’s from the Washington Navy Yard.
This is good news for all of us who drink water, fish, swim in lakes and streams, boat, and eat fish. Because clean water upstream means clean water downstream. And protecting water is less expensive and more effective than trying to take contaminants out.

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