Waterway Advocates was a signatory on the below letter recommending the need to promptly restore federal clean water protections during discussions to revise the definition of “Waters of the United States."
The Honorable Michael Regan
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
Mail Code 1101A
Michael Connor
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works)
108 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0108
Dear Administrator Regan and Assistant Secretary Connor:
On behalf of our organizations’ members and supporters, we call on you to act quickly to restore federal clean water protections as you revise the definition of “Waters of the United States”.
The kinds of waters at risk of being denied federal protection are enormously valuable. Headwaters and ephemeral and intermittent streams help provide drinking water to millions of people, support fish and estuaries prized for angling and recreation, and feed our most beloved rivers, lakes, and bays. Wetlands filter out pollutants, protect communities from flooding, and provide habitat for wildlife. In short, protecting these waterways is essential to the Clean Water Act’s core purpose -- “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.”
Moreover, protecting these waters promotes the administration’s priorities of addressing climate change and environmental justice. As climate change drives more severe storms, wetlands’ flood protection will become even more vital. And as climate change intensifies drought, more of our streams are less likely to run year-round. Preserving wetlands and streams for communities already overburdened by pollution and flooding should be viewed as an environmental justice imperative.
While your agencies’ current guidance of protecting those waters that had been covered prior to 2015 is significantly better than the recklessly limited coverage of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, it is still inadequate to ensure clean water across the country. The EPA and Army Corps must therefore move promptly towards replacing it and adopting strong federal clean water protections that are rooted in science and consistent with the objective of the Clean Water Act to protect streams, wetlands, and lakes that our families and communities rely on.
Given the extensive prior record on the definition of waters protected under the Clean Water Act -- including widespread public comment-- the agency has all the tools it needs to complete the replacement process by the end of this year.
In order to ensure a new definition of “Waters of the United States” fulfills the promise of the Clean Water Act, the following are some of the key topics to implementing the Clean Water Act consistent with the Act's objective, in protecting families and communities, and in allowing businesses to thrive:
The scope of jurisdictional tributaries- In defining jurisdictional tributaries, the agencies should protect the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the rivers, streams, lakes, and other waters that are tributaries to interstate waters, traditional navigable waters, impoundments, territorial seas, and other waters of the United States.
The scope of adjacency- The rule must protect wetlands adjacent to other "waters of the United States" and the agencies should use their expertise and the latest science on hydrologic and functional connectivity in doing so.
Science- We need regulatory standards that are rooted in science and protective of the interconnected streams, wetlands, and other waters that are so vital to our communities and ecosystems. Establishing a sound, consistent, scientifically supported and clear definition of "waters of the United States" is a critical component of lawfully implementing the Clean Water Act.
Environmental justice interests- An unduly restrictive definition of "waters of the United States" disproportionately harms environmental justice communities. EPA has provided guidance to its rule-writers on how to incorporate environmental justice, noting in internal guidance that “it is critical that EPA rule-writers consider environmental justice (EJ) when developing a regulation.”
Climate implications- Climate change must be factored into any new definition of "waters of the United States." Nearly half of the river and stream miles in this country are already biologically impaired, and the effects of climate change will exacerbate these impairments unless greater protections are implemented. Climate change dictates the broad protection of all waters, without exclusion.
In this 50th year of the Clean Water Act, we call on you to promptly restore federal clean water protections and then strengthen protections in a second rulemaking to adequately safeguard America’s waterways.
Sincerely,
Jack West
Policy and Advocacy Director Alabama Rivers Alliance
Birmingham, AL
Ben Wegleitner
River Sustainability Director
Cahaba River Society
Birmingham, AL
Chad Hoffman
Program Director
Coosa Riverkeeper
Birmingham, AL
Aaron McCall
Federal Advocacy Coordinator California Environmental Voters Oakland, CA
Barbara Sattler
Leadership Council Member
California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
Forestville, CA
Carin High
Co-Chair
Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge
Palo Alto, CA
John Rumpler
Clean Water Program Director Environment America
Washington, D.C.
Dan Silver
Executive Director
Endangered Habitats League Los Angeles, CA
Katie Day
Environmental Science and Policy Manager Surfrider Foundation
San Clemente, CA
Melanie Winter
Founder & Director
The River Project
Los Angeles, CA
Jennifer Thurston
Executive Director
Information Network for Responsible Mining
Broomfield, CO
April Ingle
Policy Director
River Network
Boulder, CO
Tracy Kolian
Healthy policy consultant
Children's Environmental Health Network
Washington, D.C.
Carlos Ochoa
National Policy Associate
Azul
Washington, D.C.
Matthew Young
Associate Director, Policy and Government Relations
American Rivers
Washington, D.C.
Colton Fagundes
Senior Policy Manager
American Sustainable Business Network Washington, D.C.
Harriet Festing
Executive Director
Anthropocene Alliance
Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Peters
National Water Programs Director Clean Water Action
Washington, D.C.
Bart Johnsen-Harris
Senior Government Relations Representative
Defenders of Wildlife
Washington, D.C.
Aaron Mintzes
Senior Policy Counsel
Earthworks
Washington, D.C.
Tara Thornton
Deputy Director
Endangered Species Coalition
Washington, D.C.
Tyler Lobdell
Staff Attorney
Food & Water Watch
Washington, D.C.
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes Water Equity and Ocean Program Director GreenLatinos
Washington, D.C.
Shanna Edberg
Director of Conservation Programs Hispanic Access Foundation
Washington, D.C.
Madeleine Foote
Deputy Legislative Director
League of Conservation Voters
Washington, D.C.
Rudy Arredondo
President/CEO
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
Washington, D.C.
Chad Lord
Senior Director, Environment and Climate Policy
National Parks Conservation Association Washington, D.C.
Glenn Watkins
Water Resources Policy Specialist National Wildlife Federation
Washington, D.C.
Lorette Picciano
Executive Director
Rural Coalition
Washington, D.C.
Dalal Aboulhosn
Deputy Director of Policy, Advocacy and Legal
Sierra Club
Washington, D.C.
Dr. Rachel Silverstein
Executive Director and Waterkeeper Miami Waterkeeper
Miami, FL
Caleb Merendino
Co-Executive Director
Waterway Advocates
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Ingrid Gronstal
Water Program Director
Iowa Environmental Council
Des Moines, IA
Hollie Conde
Legislation & Lands Coordinator Conservation Voters for Idaho
Boise, ID
Cindy Skrukrud
President
Boone-Dutch Creeks Watershed Alliance Woodstock, IL
Cynthia Kanner
Executive Director
Environmental Defenders of McHenry County
Woodstock, IL
Edward L Michael
Chair, Government Affairs
Illinois Council of Trout Unlimited Highland Park, IL
Molly Kordas
Staff Attorney
Openlands
Chicago, IL
Don Jodrey
Director of Federal Relations
The Alliance for the Great Lakes Chicago, IL
Ashley Wilmes
Director
Kentucky Resources Council
Frankfort, KY
Dean A. Wilson
Executive Director
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Plaquemine, LA
Cynthia M Sarthou
Executive Director
Healthy Gulf
New Orleans, LA
Rebecca Malpass
Policy and Research Coordinator
The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
New Orleans, LA
Elizabeth Henry
President
Environmental League of MA
Boston, MA
Katharine Lange
Policy Specialist
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Cambridge, MA
Rob Moir, PhD
Executive Director
Ocean River Institute
Cambridge, MA
Katie Huffling
Executive Director
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Mount Rainier, MD
Gabby Ross
Assateague Coastkeeper
Assateague Coastal Trust
Berlin, MD
Alice Volpitta
Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper
Blue Water Baltimore
Baltimore, MD
Jared Mott
Conservation Director
Izaak Walton League of America Gaithersburg, MD
Kim Coble
Executive Director
Maryland League of Conservation Voters Annapolis, MD
Raimee Eck
Advocacy Committee Co-chair
Maryland Public Health Association Maryland
Nina Beth Cardin
Director
MD Campaign for Environmental Human Rights
Baltimore, MD
Audrey Magnuson
Coast and Oceans Program Coordinator Rachel Carson Council
Bethesda, MD
Mark Southerland
Legislative Director
Safe Skies Maryland
Columbia, MD
Elle Bassett
Miles-Wye Riverkeeper
ShoreRivers
Easton, MD
Liz Kirkwood
Executive Director
For Love of Water (FLOW) Traverse City, MI
Megan Tinsley
Water Policy Director
Michigan Environmental Council Lansing, MI
Trevor A Russell
Water Program Director
Friends of the Mississippi River St. Paul, MN
Whitney Tawney
Executive Director
Montana Conservation Voters Bozeman, MO
Carrie Clark
Executive Director
NC League of Conservation Voters Raleigh, NC
Edgar Miller
Riverkeeper/Executive Director Yadkin Riverkeeper
Winston-Salem, NC
Curtis Stofferahn
Chairman of the DRC Board Dakota Resource Council
Bismarck, ND
George R Cunningham
Board Member
Nebraska Wildlife Federation Omaha, NE
Kai Mateo
Federal Climate Campaign Manager New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Hamilton, NJ
Eileen Murphy
Vice President
NJ Audubon
Trenton, NJ
Laurie Howard
Executive Director
The Passaic River Coalition
Morristown, NJ
Rachel Conn
Deputy Director
Amigos Bravos
Taos, NM
Eugene Pickett
National Field Manager
The National Latino Farmers and Ranchers/Black Farmers and Ranchers, New Mexico
Jarales, NM
Joshua Klainberg
Senior Vice President
New York League of Conservation Voters New York, NY
Sandy Bihn
Executive Director
Lake Erie Waterkeeper
Toledo, OH
Peter Bucher
Managing Director of Water Policy Ohio Environmental Council
Columbus, OH
Rev. Sandra L. Strauss
Director of Advocacy & Ecumenical Outreach
Pennsylvania Council of Churches Harrisburg, PA
Queen Quet
Secretary and Founding Member Gullah Geechee Fishing Association St. Helena Island, SC
Nick Halberg
Research & Policy Analyst
Utah Rivers Council
Salt Lake City, UT
Lauren Hierl
Executive Director
Vermont Conservation Voters
Montpelier, VT
Mindy Roberts
Puget Sound Program Director Washington Environmental Council and Washington Conservation Voters Seattle, WA
Cheryl Nenn
Riverkeeper Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Milwaukee, WI