Dear ,
As an early “holiday gift” on November 17, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule redefining the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The January 5 public comment deadline is the beginning of our latest battle to defend decades of progress toward cleaner, healthier waterways.
The Supreme Court has already stripped away significant protections, and this proposal goes even further. According to the agencies’ own analysis, more than 80 percent of mapped wetlands in the continental United States would lose protection under this rule. They haven’t even quantified the rivers, ponds, streams, and lakes that would be affected—but the implications are clear: without these legal protections, polluters would be free to recklessly dump industrial waste, sewage, toxins, carcinogens, and even radioactive materials.
That contamination doesn’t stay put. It flows into drinking water supplies. It kills fish. It sickens children. It undermines local economies and puts families at risk. For nearly a decade, the definition of WOTUS has been rewritten again and again, creating confusion, opening enforcement gaps, and giving polluters the loopholes they’ve been waiting for.
We’re ready for them and we won’t back down. Your support right now is essential.
