This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the foundational law that governs our nation’s waters. Since 1972, the CWA has played an essential role in protecting the chemical, physical, and biological health of the country’s waterways.
While the CWA has helped achieved significant milestones in improving water quality, over the years, the courts and federal agencies have interpreted the statute in ways that make its scope and application unclear. Like many other permitting issues, many of the projects that fall under CWA are mired in regulatory uncertainty.
Late last year, ConservAmerica published a commentary on the need for EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to provide regulatory certainty under the Clean Water Act for communities and landowners.
We noted, “For nearly three decades, the scope of federal jurisdiction has changed with each new administration, with Republicans seeking to contain federal reach and Democrats seeking to expand it. This whiplash is particularly hard on landowners, industry, and farmers who depend upon regulatory certainty.”
The effects are real – communities in need of new bridges, roads and highways, airports, clean energy, and water infrastructure are mired in delays caused by regulatory uncertainties. This hampers transit, commerce, and prolongs the public’s exposure to the environmental, health, and safety hazards posed by aging infrastructure.
There is a need for a reasonable, clear, and justifiable definition of what waters fall under federal jurisdiction. Practical realities require that definition to balance the protection of our nation’s water resources with the need for a clear and predictable permitting process that makes it possible to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and provide for economic growth.
Earlier this year, we sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael L. Connor encouraging the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to suspend a rulemaking to redefine the scope of waters considered jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act until the U.S. Supreme Court completes its consideration of Sackett v. EPA. The case could have significant implications for EPA’s regulatory authorities under the CWA and the definition of “waters of the United States,” commonly referred to as WOTUS.
There is no disputing that protecting our nation’s water resources is important, and to that end, the Clean Water Act has certainly been a success story. But we must work to achieve balance between the burdensome impact on industry, agriculture, and landowners, and the protection of our nation’s waters.
Happy anniversary Clean Water Act – here’s to a less cumbersome future.