Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
Yesterday, coal lobbyist and acting EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler once again bowed to the whims of corporate polluters by rolling back the Waters of the U.S (WOTUS) safeguards, attacking the drinking water of 117 million people -- roughly ⅓ of all Americans.
Today, in a shameless effort to cover their tracks, the EPA promoted a Wall Street Journal editorial falsely claiming that the Clean Water rule rollback would limit EPA safeguards to 'navigable waters.'
Meanwhile, the EPA’s own data -- which, according to reports from E&E News, EPA claimed it didn’t have -- was uncovered by E&E reporters and it suggests 18 percent of streams and 51 percent of wetlands would lose protection under their rollback.
In just the day this rule has been released, it is crystal clear that the Trump administration is giving polluting industry an early Christmas present - the freedom to pollute, pave and destroy our nation’s waters with no accountability.
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.