Judge in North Dakota halts clean water protections in 24 states
On Wednesday, April 12th, a federal court in North Dakota issued a 24-state injunction halting EPA’s rule that restores Clean Water Act protections to at least some of the nation’s wetlands and other waterways.
The court’s order comes even as a recent scientific study shows the importance of wetlands in protecting our rivers, lakes and bays from pollution. Especially in the wake of the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, we should be doing everything they can to protect clean water.
While not protecting all of our nation’s waterways, the EPA’s current rule rescinded the Trump administration’s so-called “Dirty Water Rule,” which provoked widespread public opposition and was criticized by the EPA’s own science advisors at the time it was enacted.
The EPA’s current rule is supported by science and the law. Today’s court ruling fundamentally misreads both the letter and the purpose of the Clean Water Act.
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