EPA finalizes new clean water rule protecting thousands more waterways

The EPA on Wednesday finalized a long-anticipated rule that would ramp up protection against pollution of streams, wetlands and other waterways — winning praise but also igniting opposition.

This Clean Water Rule is meant to clarify federal jurisdiction, particularly in semi-arid western states such as Colorado, where thousands of waterways are seasonal.

The rule announced by EPA administrator Gina McCarthy does not create new permitting requirements, she said, but would give federal officials clear authority to investigate and prosecute polluters in "tributary" waterways.

"This rule will make it easier to identify protected waters," McCarthy said in a conference call with reporters.

"This rule will not get in the way of agriculture," she said.

Colorado farmers and a national coalition of industry groups oppose it. They've asked Congress to intervene and are considering legal challenges.

"They're saying that if somebody decides that what you are doing on your land has an impact on what they call 'waters of the United States' then the EPA has jurisdiction. If a private citizen complains about it, the EPA has a duty and responsibility to investigate and pursue the case," Colorado Farm Bureau president Don Shawcroft said Wednesday.

"It means the EPA potentially is looking over our shoulder about everything we do — even for small seasonal streams and during heavy rain."

National environmental and conservation groups applauded the Obama administration for closing legal uncertainties that limited enforcement of clean water laws.

"Few things are more fundamental to our health than clean water. Nobody should have to worry about pollution when they turn on the tap," American Rivers president Bob Irvin said. "This administration's leadership in protecting our streams will benefit millions of Americans and their children and grandchildren."

The rule is designed to end uncertainty created by Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that put small streams, headwaters and some wetlands in limbo without full protection.

Those court decisions suggested waterways not entirely within one state, creeks that only contain water at certain times of year, and lakes not linked to larger water systems might not qualify as "navigable waters" and might not be covered under clean water laws. The concern is that pollution of such waterways can make its way into sources of drinking water, including groundwater.

For more than four years, the EPA has been unable to prosecute cases against alleged polluters of such waterways.

U.S. Rep. Diana Degette of Colorado issued a statement saying the rule clarifies uncertain jurisdiction that left one in three people nationwide in danger of losing access to clean drinking water. "This long-overdue rule will provide certainty for businesses and agriculture, and I will work to make sure it is implemented fairly," Degette said.

Forty miles northeast of Denver in Weld County, farmer Marc Arnusch said Colorado agriculture would be better served by relying on local and state authorities to protect water.

"To have federal regulation over our water and the way we manage our water can be extremely threatening to us as a farm," Arnusch said. "How is somebody all the way back in Washington D.C. going to know better than a farm here how to protect not only our quantity but our quality of water?

"We pride ourselves on doing a very good job of keeping our waters clean. We want to do that at the local and state level. We don't need the bureaucracy of the federal government coming in and changing what is working now."