** WOTUS under the bridge
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2020
Fen wetland restoration in Ovando, Montana, USFWS ([link removed](13880796533).jpg)
Today, the Trump administration will remove protections from more than half of America's wetlands ([link removed]) , giving property owners and developers the green light to dump pesticides and fertilizers directly into waterways, and destroy wetlands for construction projects.
The final rule, which will be announced today, goes beyond repealing the Obama administration's Waters of the United States rule, or WOTUS for short. The new rule, if it survives a court challenge, would mean that land owners would no longer need EPA approval in cases that required a permit even before the Obama rule.
Last month, a government advisory board that included scientists chosen by the Trump administration warned that the final WOTUS rule “neglects established science ([link removed]) .”
Quick hits
** Land & Water Conservation Fund champions look to revive mandatory funding push
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Trump has made nearly 500 false or misleading claims about the environment while in office
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Interior Dept. uses geothermal energy proposal to roll back desert protections
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** Arizona’s biggest utility says it will get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Are fossil fuel companies finally reckoning with climate change?
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TIME ([link removed])
** Trump administration approves right-of-way permit for Keystone XL oil pipeline
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed])
** Northwest salmon in peril, and efforts to save them scale up
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NPR ([link removed])
** Man rescued from Yellowstone was seeking Forrest Fenn's treasure
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Wyoming News Exchange ([link removed])
Quote of the day
This puts drinking water for millions of Americans at risk of contamination from unregulated pollution. This is not just undoing the Obama rule. This is stripping away protections that were put in place in the ’70s and ’80s that Americans have relied on for their health.”
—Blan Holman, Southern Environmental Law Center ([link removed])
Picture this
** @interior ([link removed])
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Stand on the rim of Cedar Breaks National Monument and overlook the amphitheater of snow-covered rock formations. They tell a story of ancient mountains and seas #Utah ([link removed])
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