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More than 100 policymakers in the U.S. House of Representatives gathered Wednesday to unveil the Clean Water Act of 2023, legislation that would restore protections for wetlands in the United States.
The legislation is a response to Sackett v. EPA, a landmark Supreme Court decision that gutted protections for most of the nation's wetlands. In the ruling, the court concluded that waters are not protected under the Clean Water Act of 1972 unless they have a continuous surface connection to key lakes and rivers that affect interstate commerce. In other words, waters that have an underground connection to lakes or rivers, or are at all separated by barriers, are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act.
The proposed Clean Water Act of 2023 would reinstate the prior definition of protected waters. Under this definition, waters are protected if they have a "significant nexus" to larger bodies of water through physical, chemical, or biological links. The legislation would also finalize permitting exemptions for activities including farming, ranching, construction, and waste treatment, and it would require the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to periodically review Clean Water Act exemptions to keep regulations up to date with current science.
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I think (the designation of Camp Hale) is just step one in a new era for protecting Colorado's public land. For prioritizing conservation and recreation, making sure that the wildlife that live in western Colorado have connected and safe habitats, protecting the watershed and the drinking water for millions of people, and giving outdoors enthusiasts a lot of space.”
