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13:47, 14-Jun-2018
US groups sue Trump administration over water protections
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Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, challenging moves they say weaken protections for rivers, wetlands and other waterways.
The actions follow an executive order by President Donald Trump in February 2017 that directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work toward rescinding a clean water rule issued under President Barack Obama in 2015.
Nine conservation organizations including the Center for Biological Diversity and regional groups in California and Idaho filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the Environmental Protection Agency on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before a Senate Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the Environmental Protection Agency on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
The 2015 rule known as Waters of the United States (WOTUS) gave the federal government power to limit pollution in major waterways and wetlands.
In late January, the EPA said that WOTUS will not be applied for two years while it works to repeal and replace the Obama-era clean water regulation.
"The delay further exacerbates water quality problems," said Hannah Connor, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.
The groups want the court to annul the delay.
Defendants include Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, the EPA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Black plastic balls, known as "shade balls," float in the Los Angeles Reservoir to protect water quality in compliance with EPA rules in this aerial photograph taken over Los Angeles, California, August 31, 2015. /VCG Photo
Black plastic balls, known as "shade balls," float in the Los Angeles Reservoir to protect water quality in compliance with EPA rules in this aerial photograph taken over Los Angeles, California, August 31, 2015. /VCG Photo
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit also challenges parts of the 2015 rule because the groups claim it removed clean water safeguards for certain kinds of waterways.
Pruitt has been visiting agricultural states this week to discuss the WOTUS rule, which was panned by farmers during the Obama administration. He will hold a roundtable on the rule on Thursday in Nebraska.
Source(s): Reuters