On Jan. 23, 2020, the Trump Administration finalized a rule rolling back the Clean Water Act (the Act), marking the first time it has ever been reduced in power outside of the courts. Specifically, the changes lay waste to protections for ephemeral and intermittent waterways that flow only in response to precipitation, and wetlands that aren't directly connected to a major "navigable" river or waterway. Trump's "Dirty Water Rule," as it is being called across social media, has sparked outrage, concern, and fear amongst the environmental community.
The modifications to the rules were announced at the National Association of Home Builders International Builders' Show in Las Vegas - an event featuring the industry many critics say will benefit most from the changes. Meanwhile, others see this as a huge win for agriculture, while still other opponents claim the rules were ramrodded through at the behest of the mining industry.
The Act has been weakened before by the courts in
United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes,
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States, and
Rapanos v. United States. Nevertheless, headlines like
'Biggest Loss of water protection the country has ever seen': Trump Guts Safeguards for US Streams and Wetlands, rang out around the country, reporting this as the biggest assault on water quality in U.S. history. But will the rollbacks be as devastating as news agencies and environmental groups claim? What's the real scoop, and should you be concerned? In an effort to find out the answer to those questions,
EnviroNews Editor-in-Chief Emerson Urry spoke in-depth with Erin Brockovich, one of America's most well-known water protectors.
Brockovich gives it to readers straight in regards to the President (undergoing an impeachment trial in real-time), the changes to the Clean Water Act, and whether citizens should feel concerned over their own water supplies because of this recent move. The transcript to that interview reads as follows:
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