Clean Water Act Briefing: Update from TU's Science & Government Affairs Team

On Nov. 17,  the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to dramatically restrict which bodies of water are protected by the safeguards of the Clean Water Act. This would replace a positive, TU-supported 2015 rule (the Clean Water Rule) which includes protections for headwaters, intermittent and ephemeral streams, and wetlands. 

 

The new proposal would end Clean Water Act protections for millions of stream miles and millions of acres of wetlands, a critical part of functioning watersheds. In eliminating these protections, the proposed rule would deregulate a host of development activities, such as pipeline construction that will, over time, degrade hunting and fishing opportunities in every state in the country.

 

Of particular note to coldwater conservation, ephemeral streams that will lose protection under this rule represent approximately half of all stream miles and generate about 55 percent of downstream streamflow. 

 

Join this urgent briefing to learn more about the proposed rule and its impacts on coldwater rivers and streams from Helen Neville, TU's Senior Scientist, and our Government Affairs and Engagement & Volunteer Operations staff.