Trump Wants To Dismantle The Clean Water Rule. Here's Whats At Stake.

[Jimbo101]

Huffington Post

The drinking water of 117 million people, many threatened species and industries from farming to manufacturing could be at risk.

Calling it a “disaster,” President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to dismantle the controversial Waters of the United States rule.

Trump instructed the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to review and reconsider the rule, also known as WOTUS or the Clean Water Rule. But he did not mention that rolling back the provision could put at risk the health of 117 million Americans, the well-being of plant and animal species ― including endangered ones ― and the protection of critical habitats. The economic risks could also be significant.

The story of the Clean Water Rule dates back to a sweltering summer day in 1969 when Ohio’s Cuyahoga River, a tributary of Lake Erie, became so polluted with sewage and industrial waste that it burst into flames.

The disaster sparked an environmental revolution in the U.S. It helped lead to the establishment of the EPA in 1970 and the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the federal agency the authority to limit pollution in “navigable waters.”

The law was a game-changer for America’s large water bodies, including the Cuyahoga, which went from burning to “gleam[ing]” by the late 1980s.

[Motley13]

1. His only concern is for his golf courses

[yuiyoshida]

2. It certainly does seem as those the GOP are hell bent

on killing off many of their constituencies.

[Doreen]

3. With all of the chemicals that are going to be

around there will no longer be anything organic. There will at some point in time where it will be impossible to keep things organic.

[spanone]

4. he should be institutionalized.

it saves him money on his golf courses...it's ALL about enriching the con

[Mendocino]

5. He is proposing

cuts in Great Lakes cleanup initiatives from an already inadequate $300m to $10m, with similar cuts in efforts in Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays.

[SummerSnow]

6. Is this our future?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

7. How is clean water controversial? n/t