"More than 70% of U.S. waterways reviewed under a controversial Trump-era rule could be permanently damaged after they were not afforded federal protection, according to Army Corps of Engineers data obtained and reviewed by E&E News.
The agency reviewed 55,519 waters and water features since the Navigable Waters Protection Rule took effect in June under the Trump administration. Of those, more than 40,000 did not qualify for federal protection under the Clean Water Act.
Such "jurisdictional determinations," good for five years, pave the way for mining companies, developers and property owners to obtain permits to fill or dredge streams, tributaries, lakes and wetlands, ditches, swales and stormwater ponds. Wetlands and streams that are not given federal protections can be damaged and destroyed forever, along with their abilities to sequester carbon and protect downstream water quality.
The internal agency data reviewed by E&E News shines a bright light on the Trump administration's regulatory definition of "waters of the United States," or WOTUS. While the rule was touted as providing clarity among farmers and industry, the language has drawn legal and political challenges as it rolled back protection for millions of acres of wetlands and streams."
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