Oregon Environmental Council Responds To EPA, Army Corps Push For Clean Water Act Repeal

PORTLAND, OR — The Oregon Environmental Council on Wednesday released a statement in response to the Trump Administration's push to repeal the clean water rule — an Obama-era update to the federal Clean Water Act that re-defined what waterways can be regulated by the federal government.

On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers proposed to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule and return the Clean Water Act to its post-1987 amendment state, furthering President Donald Trump's agenda to undo the legacy of President Barack Obama. According to Reuters, President Trump in February said the Clean Water Act should apply only to navigable waters that affect interstate commerce, and that the 2015 Waters of the United States rule gives too much oversight authority to the federal government, which has reportedly angered rural farmers and landowners.

The OEC, however, contends that repealing water pollution regulations could have disastrous effects for the countries rural wetlands, which are right now overseen largely by the Army Corps of Engineers. (Whenever a new development seeks to build on or near federally protected wetlands, the Army Corps and EPA provide oversight and ensure no wildlife or natural vegetation is compromised.)

"Oregon's economy and way of life depend on clean and reliable sources of water, and gutting protections won't lead to cleaner, or safer drinking water," OEC Executive Director Andrea Durbin said in a statement. "We will continue to do the work required here in Oregon to ensure that we have clean water for all."

The OEC said the prospective repeal could put sources of drinking water for more than four million Oregonians at greater risk, and it has vowed to work with state leaders on protecting Oregon's waterways to they remain "safe places to live, work, swim, (and) fish." If repealed, OEC officials said, fewer streams, wetlands, and other waterways would be held to the Clean Water Act's pollution cleanup and control requirements, opening the door for more pollution to enter the country's rivers, lakes and streams, and putting vital wetlands at risk of destruction.

"Protecting our waterways is essential to preserving Oregon's ecosystems, recreation activities, and safe drinking water for communities across the state," OEC Water Program Director Lori Grant said. "Oregonians will not stand for the pollution and destruction of our streams and wetlands — no one should have to worry about pollution when they turn on the tap."

Click here to read the full Reuters article.

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