Leaked memo: Pruitt taking control of Clean Water Act determinations
(CNN)Key provisions in the Clean Water Act are now under the control of one person at the US Environmental Protection Agency -- Administrator Scott Pruitt, according to a leaked memo obtained by CNN.
In the new directive, Pruitt states he will make final critical decisions about preservation of streams, ponds and wetlands.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility provided CNN with a copy of the memo dated March 30, 2018. In the memo calling for "regulatory certainty," Pruitt directed EPA regional offices to "cede their Clean Water Act determinations" to him, said Kyla Bennett, the New England director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The memo states: "With this revised delegation, authority previously delegated to regional administrators to make final determinations of geographic jurisdiction shall be retained by the Administrator. ... As part of effectuating this revision, I ask that you involve the Administrator's Office early on in the process of developing geographic determinations."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/politics/clean-water-act-epa-memo/index.html