A coalition of 17 Democratic-leaning states sued the Trump administration on Friday for rolling back Obama-era protections for waterways, arguing the move ignores science on the interconnectivity of water.
President Trump’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule limits federal protections for a number of smaller waterways, which many scientists say risks pesticides and pollution reaching larger ones.
“This rule opens the door to new, and worse industry pollution that endangers our wildlife, it dirties our drinking water and increases the risk of harmful contamination of our nation’s waterways. In short, it risks the health and safety of Americans around the nation,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a call with reporters announcing the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and asks to vacate the rule entirely.
The new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits protections for headwaters like creeks, wetlands and seasonal water bodies caused by snowmelt.
It is the final replacement of the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which Trump vowed to dismantle during the 2016 campaign.
Many farm groups opposed WOTUS, arguing it subjected huge swaths of farmland to federal oversight.
“As long as I’m president, government will never micromanage America’s farmers,” Trump told audience members at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting just days before the replacement rule was announced.
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Article URL : https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/495699-states-sue-trump-administration-over-rollback-of-obama-era-water