Donald Trump's EPA Pick Is A Leading Foe Of Clean Water Laws

Given his nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, it seems President-elect Donald Trump intends to deliver on a campaign promise to destroy a major environmental regulation ― one that’s meant to protect waterways that serve as a drinking water source for 1 in 3 Americans. The likely result of that action, environmentalists fear, would be a U.S. water supply that’s dirtier and more prone to public health disasters. The regulation, the “waters of the U.S.” Clean Water Rule, was introduced by the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers in 2015 with the goal of specifically protecting streams and wetlands under the purview of the Clean Water Act. In one of the few specific water policy positions he offered on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly blasted the rule as “extreme” and “unconstitutional.” He vowed to “eliminate” it, a promise he has reiterated on his campaign transition website. The rule has not been without controversy. Twenty-seven states moved to join a series of lawsuits against it, alleging that it is an overly burdensome regulation that will hurt farmers and other businesses. But few people have been more vocal in their opposition than Pruitt, who describes himself in his official biography as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.” He has sued the EPA numerous times, including on the matter of the Clean Water ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news