WOTUS

EPA and the Department of the Army have proposed to both repeal the 2015 rule for and revise the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), halting decades-long progress toward understanding how rivers, streams, wetlands and other water bodies interconnect to provide clean drinking water and clean water for industrial needs. EPN wrote comments, a white paper and presented testimony on how these Administration actions jeopardize maintaining and protecting U.S. water quality.

EPN Responds to Proposal for New “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) Definition

EPN Testimony: Proposal for New “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) Definition

EPN Comments on Proposed Repeal of the Rule Defining the Waters of the United States

Trump’s 2020 Plan: Change the Rules on Rules

Jan 3, 2020 / by

Kelsey Brugger /

Greenwire

Betsy Southerland, EPN member and former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, is quoted in this article about Trump officials working to fundamentally change the way environmental rules are crafted.

Air, Censored Science, Chemicals & Pesticides, Cost Benefit Analysis, Economics, Fuel Efficiency, NEPA, Science, Toxic Substances, Water, WOTUS

Science Panel Staffed With Trump Appointees Says E.P.A. Rollbacks Lack Scientific Rigor

Dec 31, 2019 / by

Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman /

The New York Times

EPN member Chris Zarba, former Director, EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), is quoted in this article about letters from the SAB stating that three of President Trump’s most far-reaching and scrutinized proposals to weaken major environmental regulations are at odds with established science. Zarba is quoted in a similar article in Greenwire and Science Magazine.

Air, Censored Science, Fuel Efficiency, Science, Water, WOTUS

Repealing The Clean Water Rule Is Not About Protecting Farmers

September 20, 2019 / by

Betsy Southerland and Mark Ryan /

The Hill

EPN members Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, and Mark Ryan, former EPA Regional Counsel, Region 10, wrote this op-ed about the repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule and the law’s crucial role as an authority protecting national waterways and wetlands.

Water, WOTUS

Temporary Return to Federal Waters Rule Has Left, Right Wary

September 17, 2019 / by

David Schultz /

Bloomberg Environment

EPN member Betsy Southerland, former Director, Office of Science and Technology, EPA Office of Water, was quoted in this article about EPA’s repeal of the 2015 Waters of the United States rule and related uncertainty as the laws governing national waters return to their pre-Obama forms.