For Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Kelly, Director of Communications – 202.895.0420×103, mkelly@cleanwater.org
Washington, DC – The Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that litigation challenging the 2015 Clean Water Rule should be heard by federal district courts and not the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In anticipation of this Supreme Court decision Scott Pruitt’s EPA is fast tracking a proposal to delay the effective date of the Clean Water Rule by two years to give his agency time to finish writing a weaker rule that will likely leave small streams and most wetlands vulnerable to pollution. .
Clean Water Action Water Programs Director Jennifer Peters released the following statement:
“There is no excuse for EPA and the Army Corps to continue delaying protecting streams, wetlands, and our drinking water from polluters. The Trump administration should do what any responsible administration would do ─ implement the Clean Water Rule wherever possible and vigorously defend it in the federal district courts. This would provide clarity to stakeholders across the nation while ensuring that the drinking water for 1 in 3 of us is protected.
But that is not what’s going to happen ─ Scott Pruitt and Donald Trump have no intention of being responsible. Pruitt’s EPA is going to rush to finalize the legally questionable proposal to delay implementation of the Clean Water Rule. This will leave streams, wetlands, and drinking water at risk of pollution and destruction while EPA finishes its shortsighted and dangerous endgame to replace the Clean Water Rule with much weaker protections for our water.”
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Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. We will protect clean water in the face of attacks from a polluter friendly Administration and Congress.
Originally published here
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