Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) released a proposed rule to clarify Clean Water Act protection for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. Over the next 90 days, EPA and the Corps will reach out to citizens, groups and businesses to gather input they need to shape the final rule.
EPA has released two short videos as part of this outreach:
The proposed rule is based on the latest peer-reviewed science, including a draft scientific assessment by EPA (pdf: 11MB!), which presents a review and synthesis of more than 1,000 pieces of scientific literature. According to the EPA, a final version of the rule will not be published until the scientific assessment is complete.
The EPA has a portal page for protection of waters of the US that includes access to the scientific assessment, the proposed rule, press releases, fact sheets and other background information. People can also find a link for submission of comments on the proposed on this page.
Just a side note on the page itself: I thought EPA did a pretty good job making aspects of this complex issue accessible without overwhelming someone who prefers summaries, talking points and overviews. People who want to dig deeper can certainly do so easily by exploring the drop down info and links on the page.
Several court cases in the past decade or so -- U.S. v. Riverside Bayview, Rapanos v. United States, and Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), and Rapanos v. United States (Rapanos) -- challenged EPA jurisdiction in several ways.This draft rule attempts to address issues of the agency's regulatory reach into small but critical upstream waters whose protection was thrown into question by the court decisions.
For example, around 60 percent of stream miles in the U.S. only flow seasonally or after rain. Though they be small, they have a mighty impact downstream. Approximately 117 million people get drinking water from public systems that rely in part on these small, intermittant streams. EPA and the Army Corps hope the rule will clarify protection of these waters.
Specifically, the rule proposes that under the Clean Water Act (and based on the science)
- Most seasonal and rain-dependent streams are protected.
- Wetlands near rivers and streams are protected.
- Other types of waters may have more uncertain connections with downstream water and protection will be evaluated through a case specific analysis of whether the connection is or is not significant. However, to provide more certainty, the proposal requests comment on options protecting similarly situated waters in certain geographic areas or adding to the categories of waters protected without case specific analysis.
During the comment period I'll try to post updates, analyses and other information on this rule-making process, and the very critical challenge to return US waters to good health and keep them that way.
Here are a few direct links for now:
EPA Press Release, March 25, 2014
Unofficial version of the proposed rule (waiting for official publication in the Federal Register)
Fact Sheet: continuing exclusions and exemptions for agriculture
Comments