Yesterday, President Trump issued an order directing his administration to begin the long process of rolling back sweeping clean water rules enacted by the Obama Administration. Here are the reactions I have found so far, listed in alphabetical order:
From the California Farm Bureau Federation:
Welcoming President Trump’s executive order for review of a disputed Clean Water Act rule, the president of the California Farm Bureau Federation said he hopes today’s action leads to a more cooperative approach to environmental regulation.“California farmers and ranchers pride themselves in the care they show for the land, water and other resources entrusted to them,” CFBF President Paul Wenger said. “We want to work cooperatively to maintain and improve our land, not to be subject to confusing and sometimes contradictory rules from government agencies.
“We’re encouraged by the Trump administration’s action to roll back the ‘waters of the United States’ rule,” Wenger said. “At the same time, we recognize the executive order as the first step in what could be a long process to undo the confusion brought by the WOTUS rule.
“Ultimately, the goal should be to provide farmers and ranchers—in California and elsewhere—the freedom to farm their land productively and with environmental certainty, while pursuing compliance with the Clean Water Act through incentives rather than coercion.”
From Jon Devine at the NRDC:
“Today, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to begin repealing the Clean Water Rule, a landmark measure many years in the making. Likewise, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently told Fox News that he plans to go “full speed ahead” to attack the rule. The President’s order and Administrator Pruitt’s happy obedience insult all Americans―especially the 117 million of us who get drinking water drawn from streams the rule would help protect from pollution.
We rely on clean water for drinking, to irrigate crops, for swimming and fishing, and as habitat for wildlife. Wetlands and other waters reduce flooding and filter pollution. Since 1972, the Clean Water Act, one of our earliest and most important environmental laws, has helped restore and protect our Nation’s waters. The rule aimed to ensure that water bodies that perform these essential functions warrant protection from pollution and destruction under the Clean Water Act. … ”
Continue reading at the NRDC here: President Trump Attacks Clean Water
From Reed Hopper at the Pacific Legal Foundation:
The President issued an Executive Order today calling for the EPA to review and revise the indefensible Army Corps and EPA rule redefining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) subject to federal control under the Clean Water Act. I can think of a no more qualified candidate for regulatory rollback than this infamous rule.
During his campaign, President Trump stated his view that the rule was ill-conceived and likely unconstitutional. This was not an off hand comment designed to rally his base nor an impetuous shot from the hip. He was echoing the conclusions of some Corps officials and two federal courts that preliminarily held the WOTUS rule was procedurally and substantively flawed and would probably be overturned in subsequent proceedings.
The WOTUS rule is undoubtedly the most blatant and far-reaching federal power grab in the history of the Nation. The rule effectively federalizes virtually all waters and much of the land in the United States. But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.
To continue reading, click here: The Administration calls for review of flawed WOTUS rule!
From Trout Unlimited and others:
The Trump Administration is undermining the Clean Water Act. American sportsmen and sportswomen call on the Administration to protect headwater streams and valuable wetlands, keystones of America’s clean water and hunting and fishing heritage
Does America need cleaner waterways? Or do we want to forsake decades of progress and allow degradation of our streams, rivers and wetlands? Those are the vital questions for the new Trump Administration and the 115th Congress.
American sportsmen and women want to move forward, not backward.
Yet, today, President Trump signed an executive order to start rolling back the Clean Water Rule, a new definition issued in 2015 to clarify what are “waters of the United States.” The legally sound and scientifically supported definition would ensure protection for headwater streams and wetlands.
The Trump administration Executive Order directs the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA to rescind and revise the Clean Water Rule. It directs the agencies to consider using former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s minority opinion that said seasonal streams and many wetlands do not merit protection as a basis for the revision.
If Justice Scalia’s direction is followed 60 percent of U.S. streams and 20 million acres of wetlands would lose protection of the Clean Water Act; a tragedy for fish and wildlife, hunting and fishing, and clean water.
President Trump’s reliance on Justice Scalia’s opinion is especially misguided and must be reversed. The Trump Administration must consider the benefits of the 2015 Clean Water Rule and make sure that any revised rule does the following:
• Restores longstanding protections for millions of wetlands and headwater streams that contribute to the drinking water of one in three Americans, protects communities from flooding, and provides essential fish and wildlife habitat that supports a robust outdoor recreation economy.
• Sustains the sport fishing industry, which accounts for 828,000 jobs, nearly $50 billion annually in retail sales, and an economic impact of about $115 billion every year that relies on access to clean water.
• Sustains duck hunting in the U.S., including 1.5 million duck hunters whose expenditures invest more than $3 billion into our economy.
• Fulfills the aspirations of 83 percent of American sportsmen and women, from across the political spectrum, who believe the Clean Water Act should apply to smaller streams and wetlands, as the 2015 rule directed.
The new Administration must listen to the voices of American sportsmen who want more clean water, more fish and wildlife habitat, and new progress building on the successes of the past.
Sportsmen and women will do everything within their power to compel the Administration to change course and to use the Clean Water Act to improve, not worsen, the Nation’s waterways.
Signatories to this statement: Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; National Wildlife Foundation; Trout Unlimited; Izaak Walton League of America; American Fly Fishing Trade Association; and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
From Western Growers:
In response to President Trump’s executive order regarding the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule released during former President Obama’s administration, Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif issued the following statement:
“The health of our nation’s water is of paramount importance to Western Growers and its 2,500 members who grow more than half of the country’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. Our collective livelihoods depend on the abundant availability of clean water, which has been protected over the years by the reasonable application of the Clean Water Act.
“However, we believe the 2015 WOTUS rule exceeded the federal government’s jurisdiction as defined by Congress in the Act, which only intended to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority over navigable waterways affecting interstate commerce. Indeed, this interpretation has been confirmed by the Supreme Court in Rapanos v. United States.
“We are pleased with President Trump’s executive order directing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to formally reconsider WOTUS. While we recognize this order will not immediately repeal the rule, it will provide adequate space for these federal agencies to engage state and local governments to craft an alternative solution that both fits within the boundaries prescribed in the Act and serves the best interests of the environment and key stakeholders.
“More importantly, we believe the order should spur Congress toward much-needed legislation clarifying the reach and extent of federal jurisdiction under the Act. Since the Rapanos decision, there has been significant inconsistency in interpretation and application of the Act, which has resulted in harmful unintended economic consequences for landowners. After decades of inactivity, we call on Congress to enact legislation defining the limits of the Clean Water Act.”
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