EPA Proposes Biggest Step for Clean Water in a Decade

Today, in the biggest step forward for clean water in more than a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to close loopholes in the Clean Water Act that leave nearly 30% of Florida’s streams and millions of acres of wetlands at risk of unchecked pollution and development.

“With the drinking water for close to 2 million Floridians at risk, we’re thrilled to see the EPA moving forward to protect our waterways,” said Jennifer Rubiello, field associate with Environment Florida, which has worked for more than a decade to restore Clean Water Act protections. “Today’s action is about securing that all our water is safe and healthy. Whether we’re kayaking on the Hillsborough River, fishing in our favorite stream, or just drinking the water that comes from our tap, we need Florida’s waterways to be clean and protected.”

This rulemaking comes after a decade of uncertainty over the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, following polluter-led Supreme Court challenges in 2001 and 2006. The rule, which could be finalized as soon as later this year, would restore Clean Water Act protections to many of Florida’s wetlands and streams.

“In Florida, clean water means a healthy economy.  EPA’s proposal will better protect streams and wetlands across Florida and ensure our waterways are clean now and for future generations. These are the same streams and wetlands that flow into and filter scenic waterways like the Hillsborough River,” said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. “In Florida and Tampa Bay, not only do we rely on our waterways as critical drinking water sources, but protecting and conserving them also are important to jobs and a healthy tourism industry.”

With so much at stake, Environment Florida and its sister groups across the country have waged an intensive multi-year campaign to restore these Clean Water Act protections – including more than 1 million face-to-face conversations with people across the country, and rallying more than 400 local elected officials, 300 farmers, and 300 small business owners to call on the Obama administration to take action.

“Clean water is important for the health of our local farms,” said Jack Slaydon, owner of Healthy Heritage Grass-Fed Beef, “We need to ensure the streams and wetlands that feed and filter our waterways are protected from pollution for years to come.”

In September 2013, the EPA announced it was moving forward with the rulemaking to restore Clean Water Act protections to waterways throughout Florida and across the country. It simultaneously released a draft science report on the connection between smaller streams and wetlands and downstream waters, which makes the scientific case for the rulemaking. Members of the public submitted more than 150,000 public comments in support of the report’s findings that these waterways merit protection under the law.

Many of the nation’s biggest polluters are already weighing in against the rulemaking, spreading misinformation about the rule’s potential impacts. While the EPA has announced the rule will preserve all existing Clean Water Act exemptions for the agricultural sector, the American Farm Bureau is insisting that the rulemaking is “a land grab” by the EPA and cause for “battle.” The American Farm Bureau Federation is one of 28 members of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, an industry group formed to lobby against clean water protections.

“When finalized, this rule would be the biggest step forward for clean water more than a decade,” said Rubiello. “Thank you, Administrator Gina McCarthy and the EPA for fighting to protect clean water. Now let’s get the job done.”