Today the Trump administration is expected to repeal an Obama-era clean water regulation that had limited the amount of pollution and chemicals in our nation’s bodies of water. Once announced, the repeal would go into effect in a matter of weeks.
According to the New York Times, weakening the Obama-era water rule had been a central campaign pledge for Mr. Trump, who characterized it as a federal land-grab that impinged on the rights of farmers, rural landowners and real estate developers to use their property as they see fit.
The U.S.’s streams, lakes, rivers, and wetlands would all suffer if this rollback occurs.
“The Obama clean water rule had very clear lines defining which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, versus which waters are not, while repealing the rule means replacing those lines with case-by-case calls. This will be very unpredictable. They are imposing a chaotic case-by-case program to replace clear, bright-line rules,” said Blan Holman, an expert on water regulations with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
President Trump criticized this regulation for natively affecting the rights of farmers, real-estate developers, and landowners. Environmental groups and activists believe, however, weakening water regulations will only harm the sources of safe drinking water for U.S. citizens.
COMMENTS