[birdky] more environmental distress
- From: Elizabeth.Ciuzio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 11:24:48 -0500
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."
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