“…About 60 percent of stream miles in the U.S. only flow seasonally or after rain, but have a considerable impact on the downstream waters. And approximately 117 million people – one in three Americans – get drinking water from public systems that rely in part on these streams…”
…Throw out your breakfast garbage, and I’ve got a hunch, that the folks downstream will drink it for lunch…
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) waiting to speak at a press conference in the Farm Bureau building
at the Missouri State Fair – August 14, 2014 [file photo].
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) via Twitter this past week:
Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
Time for the #Senate to Act on #WOTUS bill. The federal land grab must stop: Obama asserts power over small waterways [….] 9:21 AM – 27 May 2015
The responses:
Terry Fillow @Fillows4
@RepHartzler How about we promote protection of waterways! No pollution allowed! Clean Water! 9:52 AM – 27 May 2015
Iceblue52 @Iceblue52Roth
@RepHartzler Remember when the Cuyahoga river caught on fire before there was an EPA? Industry didn’t give a crap until held accountable. 3:22 PM – 29 May 2015
Now, now, that was just creative corporate reallocation of byproduct overages to the public watershed.
From the Environmental Protection Agency over a year ago:
EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Clarify Protection for Nation’s Streams and Wetlands: Agriculture’s Exemptions and Exclusions from Clean Water Act Expanded by Proposal
Release Date: 03/25/2014
[….]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) today jointly released a proposed rule to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. The proposed rule will benefit businesses by increasing efficiency in determining coverage of the Clean Water Act. The agencies are launching a robust outreach effort over the next 90 days, holding discussions around the country and gathering input needed to shape a final rule.
Determining Clean Water Act protection for streams and wetlands became confusing and complex following Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006. For nearly a decade, members of Congress, state and local officials, industry, agriculture, environmental groups, and the public asked for a rulemaking to provide clarity.
The proposed rule clarifies protection for streams and wetlands. The proposed definitions of waters will apply to all Clean Water Act programs. It does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the Clean Water Act and is consistent with the Supreme Court’s more narrow reading of Clean Water Act jurisdiction.
[….]
The health of rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters depend on the streams and wetlands where they begin. Streams and wetlands provide many benefits to communities – they trap floodwaters, recharge groundwater supplies, remove pollution, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. They are also economic drivers because of their role in fishing, hunting, agriculture, recreation, energy, and manufacturing.
About 60 percent of stream miles in the U.S. only flow seasonally or after rain, but have a considerable impact on the downstream waters. And approximately 117 million people – one in three Americans – get drinking water from public systems that rely in part on these streams. These are important waterways for which EPA and the Army Corps is clarifying protection.
[….]
The proposed rule preserves the Clean Water Act exemptions and exclusions for agriculture. Additionally, EPA and the Army Corps have coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop an interpretive rule to ensure that 56 specific conservation practices that protect or improve water quality will not be subject to Section 404 dredged or fill permitting requirements. The agencies will work together to implement these new exemptions and periodically review, and update USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation practice standards and activities that would qualify under the exemption. Any agriculture activity that does not result in the discharge of a pollutant to waters of the U.S. still does not require a permit.
[….]
The proposed rule is supported by the latest peer-reviewed science, including a draft scientific assessment by EPA, which presents a review and synthesis of more than 1,000 pieces of scientific literature. The rule will not be finalized until the final version of this scientific assessment is complete.
Forty years ago, two-thirds of America’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters were unsafe for fishing and swimming. Because of the Clean Water Act, that number has been cut in half. However, one-third of the nation’s waters still do not meet standards.
[….]
Previously:
Vicky Hartzler talking about water and pesky regulations at the Missouri State Fair (August 14, 2014)
Sen. Roy Blunt (r): bad, bad EPA, bad (August 15, 2014)
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (r): …don’t drink the water, and don’t breathe the air… (August 17, 2014)
