The ‘most extreme attack on clean water in recent memory’ could endanger water sources for 117 million Americans

The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan that could jeopardize the drinking water of as many as one in three Americans.

 

The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan that could jeopardize the drinking water of as many as one in three Americans.

On Dec. 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a proposal to weaken the Clean Water Act by stripping its protection from some or all of the streams and wetlands that feed our country’s major waterways and help provide drinking water for 117 million people. This proposal, which we’re calling the “Dirty Water Rule,” stems from an executive order President Trump signed signed in 2017.

“The Clean Water Act offered a transpartisan vision of making all of our waterways safe for swimming and fishing,” said Bart Johnsen-Harris, an advocate with our national network’s clean water campaign. “Our government should be doing more to achieve this vision, not creating dumping grounds for polluters.”

Environment America and our national network were instrumental in enacting these protections, and are gearing up to defend them.

Read more here.

Photo: America’s streams and wetlands help provide drinking water for 117 million people. Credit: Jeff Gunn via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)