Administration finalizes repeal of 2015 water rule Trump called 'destructive and horrible'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For years, the fight over how much power the federal government should have to regulate the wetlands and tributaries that feed into the nation’s largest rivers has played out across the country.

In the halls of Washington and on sprawling farms and ranches, in courtrooms and corporate boardrooms, a legal tug of war has unfolded over a 2015 rule that gave the Environmental Protection Agency much broader authority over the nation’s waterways. Critics say the Obama rule gave the federal government far too much power; supporters countered it would prevent the loss of vast swaths of wetlands. Court rulings have temporarily blocked the regulation in 28 states, while keeping it in effect in 22 others.

On Thursday, the Trump administration plans to scrap the Obama-era definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, returning the country to standards put in place in 1986.

“What we have today is a patchwork across the country,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in an interview. “We need to have a uniform regulatory approach.”

Wheeler, who said the administration will finalize a new definition for which water bodies deserve federal protection within a matter of months, said the agency is seeking to end any lingering uncertainty and return more oversight to individual states.

“We want to make sure that we have a definition that once and for all will be the law of the land in all 50 states,” Wheeler said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/administration-finalizes-repeal-of-2015-water-rule-trump-called-destructive-and-horrible/2019/09/11/fddfa49a-d4aa-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html?wpisrc=al_news__alert-hse--alert-national&wpmk=1

[kimbutgar]

1. Don't MAggots want clean water?

The blowback could be red state citizens get sick and poisoned by bad water and there is no healthcare to help them.

[CaptYossarian]

2. Not if they rely on moonshine.

While the admin and Congress get Russian vodka in their goodie baskets from Vladimir.

[Judi Lynn]

3. EPA official says water will be cleaner after deregulation announcement

by: Tiffney Lopez

Posted: Sep 12, 2019 / 08:50 PM EDT / Updated: Sep 13, 2019 / 09:02 AM EDT

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – The Trump administration is rolling back an Obama-era ruling on the definition of “Waters of the United States.” The Environmental Protection Agency says this deregulatory action will save American’s $3.7-billion annually, but environmental groups say there is also a higher risk of polluted tap water.

EPA Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio made the announcement for this region in Huntington Thursday afternoon.

“Today, our EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, has announced the repeal of the ‘2015 Waters of the United States rule.'”

Only 22 states enacted the ruling, including Ohio, but it was tied up in the courts before anyone could implement it.

Robin Blakeman is the Project Coordinator with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and she says this announcement puts people at risk.

“This rule will hit West Virginia really hard in that over one million West Virginian’s depend on drinking water that comes from areas containing streams that would lose protections,” Blakeman said.

More:
https://www.wowktv.com/news/epa-official-says-water-will-be-cleaner-after-deregulation-announcement/?fbclid=IwAR3lV1E0FW3gkWclf7yfsTAKVwYRYpAw44gI5xBNQ3HCiqhaaHDAu0fei0Q