Washington, D.C. – Today, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA) reacted to news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent its final rule to repeal the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule to the White House for review.
“It is absolutely outrageous that the Trump administration is pushing ahead with a gift to special interests by pursuing the largest-ever roll back of clean water standards despite what it will mean for tens of millions of regular Americans,” the Members said. “In the not so distant past, American rivers were so polluted they caught fire and couldn’t sustain marine life. Thanks to decades of hard work and collaboration at the local, state and federal levels, our rivers, lakes and streams are healthier than they’ve been in generations. But that progress is all at risk under the Trump administration. Its rule would eliminate bedrock Clean Water Act protections, degrading water quality and increasing the cost of treating the water before it can be safely used. An estimated 117 million Americans get their drinking water from sources fed by small streams that could lose protections under this proposal and the costs of cleanup will be passed onto average American families. We will keep shining a spotlight on the Trump administration until it finally abandons its cruel attempts to weaken the Clean Water Act and endanger the health and well-being of so many American families.”
In April, Chairs DeFazio and Napolitano urged Trump administration officials to abandon attempts to weaken the Clean Water Act. Read their letter here.
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