Repeal the Dirty Water Rule Before Our Clean Water is Gone

In 1972, amendments to the first major U.S. law to address water pollution – the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 – became known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). This law “established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the U.S.,” among other things. The result? Our rivers, streams, lakes and other waterways were protected, as was the water we live, work and play on.

Over the years, amendments and new laws have changed the CWA but the Dirty Water Rule, finalized in 2020, dramatically reduced these vital protections for our waters.

From Waterkeepers Carolina member Sound Rivers:

“The new “waters of the United States” definition takes away protections that have been in place for more than 40 years; protections that help keep our water clean, protect public health and reduce the risk of flooding. The rule removes protections for many wetlands that are vital to the safety of North Carolina’s communities, as threats from flooding and severe storms worsen with climate change. At a time when our rivers are threatened from pollution and development, we need more protection, not less.”

While the EPA and the Department of the Army have announced their intention to repeal the rule, it’s still in place during their rulemaking process, which could take years. We have to repeal the Dirty Water Rule and fully restore the CWA protections immediately to prevent further damage.

Here’s how the Dirty Water Rule has threatened water quality across our country, including in the Cape Fear River Watershed.

Here’s how other waterways in NC have been affected:

**Brandon Jones, Catawba Riverkeeper** **Catawba Riverkeeper**50 years ago the Clean Water Act was created to be the foundation of our nation’s water protection law. It sets the goals and acts as a backstop for ensuring the right of citizens to access swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waters. Rollbacks, like reducing which waters qualify and delaying required wastewater upgrades for coal-fired power plants, have a direct impact on the Catawba River and its tributaries. We need the Regan EPA to follow the best available science to quickly reinstate and strengthen this critical legislation.

Jillian Howell, MEM
Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper, **Sound Rivers**The Clean Water Act is one of the most fundamental protections of our waters in this country. Rollbacks of these protections impact us all, whether we realize it or not. Removing protections from smaller, ephemeral streams and wetlands fails to recognize the impact and importance of the health of these waters and systems on those further downstream, in places like the mainstem of the Tar or Pamlico, where we fish, swim, paddle, and get our drinking water.

Sources: