Environmental groups push against criticism of water regulation

(Harrisburg) — Recently, Republican Congressman Scott Perry and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, among others, criticized a proposed EPA regulation to expand its authority over waterways, but now environmental groups say there’s good reason for the change.

The “Waters of the US” rule would bring tributaries of navigable waters, wetlands, and some lakes and ponds under regulation from the EPA.

But the lack of clarity about the rule has allowed both sides to sound the alarm.

Stacy Detwiler of nonprofit advocacy group American River says the regulation only slightly adds to the EPA’s enforcement ability.

“Protections have been lost or put into question, enforcement has declined, and so this is just an effort to kinda get back to where we were, to the intention of the Clean Water Act.”

She says the rule is really meant to address the uncertainty around the Clean Water Act regulation.

“If we don’t protect those headwaters and we don’t allow the Clean Water Act to do its job, and it’s in our headwaters, we’re not going to have clean water available for our farmers to work with,” saysLiz Diefdorf, Pennsylvania Director of Clean Water Supply programs for the group.

Two US Supreme Court decisions in the past ten years have called into question how broad the EPA’s enforcement powers under the CWA are.

Dierdorf says the so-called Waters of the U-S rule will really just clarify enforcement of Clean Water Act, passed in 1972.

The text of the rule does leave broad room for interpretation by the EPA, including tributaries of navigable waters, interstate waters, territorial seas, but also adjacent waters and so-called other waters.

If the rule goes into effect, EPA could make the case for regulating other waters on a case by case basis if they’re connected to waters that are traditionally regulated.

The traditional agricultural exemption remains in place in the Waters of the US rule.

Congressman Perry, who represents York County, plus parts of Adams, Cumberland and Dauphin counties, says the federal agency’s proposal is an overreach and could hurt farmers and small businesses.