Dear
Friend
,
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are trying to roll back protections for millions of America’s streams, wetlands, and lakes by changing the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Our expert legal team, joined by 98 local Waterkeeper groups, responded with detailed technical comments to defend every drop.
Now, the EPA has proposed another rule that further threatens our right to clean water. It would limit states’ and Tribes’ authority to block or condition federally permitted projects like interstate pipelines — weakening protections, fast-tracking risky projects, and putting our rivers, drinking water, and local ecosystems at risk.
EPA is trying to shrink states’ authority when we need it most. In both cases, the agency provided short windows for the public to respond to decisions that impact real lives in real ways.
As our Legal Director stated today in public testimony, “Public participation is not a box to be checked; it is a legal and democratic duty. When EPA treats the public as a mere inconvenience, it undermines transparency, weakens the integrity of the rulemaking process, and erodes public trust in the agency’s stewardship of our environmental laws.”
We won’t be stopped or silenced. Waterkeeper Alliance is already mobilizing our legal team to respond to this latest proposal by preparing an expert technical response, building on the extensive comments we submitted in opposition to the WOTUS rollback.
