Dear KOS, This is really depressing stuff. Please voice your opinion if you agree that trashing the Endangered Species Act and the now the Clean Water Act is unacceptable. It seem as if just one administration can undo years of good work... Beth Ciuzio Franklin county Bush Administration Drafts Rule to Diminish Stream Protections WASHINGTON, DC, November 10, 2003 (ENS) - A new Bush administration Clean Water Act draft rule released Thursday would remove federal protections from ephemeral and intermittent streams that do not have groundwater as a source. The rule would remove Clean Water Act protections from nearly all waters in the southwestern United States, where most streams do not flow year round, but it would be felt from coast to coast, critics say. Streams that flow for fewer than six months a year would lose protection from pollution and filling under the draft rule, as would the wetlands adjacent to them. The change is proposed to the definition of waters of the United States as it relates to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act. Under the new definition, tributary streams that flow into U.S. navigable waters would be protected from development and pollution only if they flow for six months of the year and are supplied by groundwater. Streams that are solely fed by rain or snow melt are not covered. Federal protection would be removed for all wetlands adjacent to tributaries that flow less than six months a year or are not fed by groundwater. The draft rule shows "a blatant disregard for law and science in favor of a free ride for industry when it comes to protecting America's water resources," according to Julie Sibbing, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) water policy specialist. It risks increased flooding, pollution and erosion and jeopardizes habitat and wildlife that support outdoor recreation, she said. "Saying that streams must flow for at least six months to warrant Clean Water Act protection is like asking Americans to wear a seat belt only if they drive more than half the year. It takes only an instant for irreversible damage to occur," warned Sibbing. Waters that are used in interstate commerce by recreational users, hunters, anglers, shellfishers and industry would be removed from Clean Water Act protection. Under the draft rule, pollutants could be discharged into a pipe or culvert connecting two navigable water bodies without any safeguard for the health of people or the environment because pipes, certain drains, ditches and other connections between navigable waters and tributaries would be removed from federal protection. "The administration's draft rule appears to respond to special interests' attempts to expand a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling to remove federal Clean Water Act protection from many types of wetlands, streams and ponds," said Jim Murphy, NWF counsel for water and wetlands resources. The Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers, known as the SWANCC decision, is a narrow ruling that applies exclusively to waters where the only claim to federal protection is that they are used by migratory birds, said Murphy. The SWANCC ruling did not affect any federal regulations regarding the jurisdictional scope of the Clean Water Act. The nation's lower courts have "consistently and overwhelmingly" found that federal safeguards to protect these critical water resources remain in place, Murphy explained. "This decision leaves no doubt that the Bush administration is willing to ignore case law when it comes to warping Clean Water Act protection policies so that they meet the needs of industry," said Murphy. "The elements of the draft rule fly in the face of lower court rulings and even those of the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to safeguarding our nation's water resources." ================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS============== The BIRDKY Mailing List requires you to sign your messages with first & last name, city, & state abbreviation. -------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, send e-mail to: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Kentucky Ornithological Society web site at http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos.htm * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison, Richmond, KY E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx