A photo of a Delmarva bay in spring shows the wetland flooded. In summer and fall this same wetland is dry. This isolated wetland fell under Obama's Waters of the U.S. Rule. Under a Trump administration proposal, federal protection for many wetlands would be removed.
Courtesy of DNREC
Courtesy of DNREC
A photo of a Delmarva bay in spring shows the wetland flooded. In summer and fall this same wetland is dry. This isolated wetland fell under Obama's Waters of the U.S. Rule. Under a Trump administration proposal, federal protection for many wetlands would be removed.
A federal court has reversed a Trump Administration decision regarding protections of small waterways. The move marks a victory for environmentalists fighting deregulation.
The Waters of the U.S. Rule clarified which tiny streams or wetlands are protected from pollution under the Clean Water Act.
President Trump got rid of it earlier this year as part of his commitment to environmental deregulation.
Now, a federal judge is restoring the rule in 26 states.
The judge said the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers violated federal law by not allowing for public comment.
“By refusing to allow public comment and consider the merits of the WOTUS rule and the 1980s regulation, the agencies did not allow a ‘meaningful opportunity’ to comment,” U.S. District Judge David Norton wrote. He found the agencies were “arbitrary and capricious.”
Geoff Gisler is an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“This administration has shown a pattern of blatantly violating federal law and shutting out the public,” he said.
This latest ruling worries farmers and builders who opposed the Obama-era rule, saying it would harm business.
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers say they’re reviewing the ruling to decide whether to appeal.
